Muralist Sophi Odling recently wrapped up a private project for Soul Cafe on Hunter Street in Newcastle where she quite enjoyed not only creating an artwork, but also getting to know the city better.
The Sydney-based artist will return to Newcastle for the city's third hosting of The Big Picture Festival, taking place during the last weekend of September (27 to 29), in conjunction with the New Annual festival.
Odling will paint a wall near the intersection of Hunter and Florence streets in Newcastle West.
Her work celebrates cultural diversity, borderless minds and the innocence of youth.
"I've always wanted to come and paint here," she says of Newcastle.
Her parents have retired in Port Stephens and they're proud to now have her artwork nearby.
The 41-year-old artist is also a mother of two, but that doesn't keep her from frequently travelling around the world. After The Big Picture Fest she'll be heading to Germany and Kuwait to paint murals.
Earlier in her working life, she worked in in the fashion industry, both in the business operations and on her own private label. She's officially worked as a muralist for the past seven years, but she's been painting all her life.
Odling says the piece she's most proud of is one of the first murals she ever painted in Sydney, 90 metres by 14 metres, called Games of Life. It was the first time she painted in what has become her current style; it was the piece where she learned how to use aerosol paints in a new, "less heavy-handed way". It's also her first portrait of children; they're playing a game of chess.
Since she's moved from fashion to murals, the biggest challenge has been work-life balance, not only with family but also finding time to actually be creative.
"The problem with walls is that a lot of people don't generally realise what goes into it, in terms of, 'Yeah, you go out there and paint it', but there needs to be the creative design process as well, and space for that. But that space for me, personally, is very small," she says.
She would love push her boundaries and have more time to develop her pieces. Often her artistic concepts are rushed because she's so busy and working to tight deadlines.
The Sydney street art scene has welcomed her despite the fact that it's often perceived as a male-dominated art form. Odling says at times she's felt she's been treated differently because she's a woman.
"So say, for example, when I was painting in Central Park in Sydney, and I've been there for a week already, and then my friend Christian came and he was painting next to me. People were all super-friendly with me. But then when he was there, it was interesting, he got a lot more interaction from people around him, particularly males. I do find that sometimes when I paint with a lot of males, they stand back a lot. They don't really know what to expect," she says.
She's observed being a woman on a construction site or operating machinery, she gets a different reaction from others until they understand she knows what she's doing. She's observed that men are generally trusted more from the get-go.
But everyone is friendly and wants her to be there. She's excited to return to paint at The Big Picture Fest, and she's currently working on mural drafts with Big Picture Fest director Katerina Skoumbas.
"Our festivals in Australia, like, we're not a huge country in population. So the festivals aren't abundant, so to be able to paint in any Australian festivals is amazing," she says.
The Big Picture Fest will take place the entire weekend of September 27 to 29 in conjunction with the New Annual Arts Festival.
If Novocastrians are curious about the murals and the artists they can come to a live painting event at midday on Wednesday, August 28, with Big Picture Festival artists Daniel Gould and Melody Suranyi on the hoardings of the old Newcastle Post Office on Hunter Street in Newcastle East. The event is in collaboration with the Ship Inn across the street from the former Post Office, which will offer drink specials and Big Picture Fest burgers.
