Sophie Read, Artist and Gardener

Sophie's meticulous attention to detail pays off in both her artwork and the gardens that she designs and maintains. Her 'Robot Paintings' on recycled board have her signature motif - a rocket carefully painted on the reverse. The paintings have been reproduced as a series of greeting cards, each  featuring a robot with' attitude' .

Sophie in the studio working on a lino block.

Lino print

What inspires you?
Street art, cartoons, surf/skate/snowboard art, industrial/mechanical drawings, lettering, logos and typography, comics, children's books, japanese woodcuts, to name a few!

What drives you to produce what you do?
It's something I love to do, and something I need to do. It keeps me on an even keel.

What handmade item do you cherish?
Perfectly carved slices of avocado, chunky cubes of goat's cheese and a splash of beetroot marmalade, skilfully arranged on a piece of sourdough toast. Created by Annie's Provedore in Barwon Heads and cherished by me on a regular basis - usually Friday or Saturday morning

Besides your creative work, what else do you do and enjoy doing?
Gardening, playing guitar and ukulele, watching animated movies especially in 3D, exercising, surfing, hanging out in the garden with my partner Philippa and our cat PK

Artists you admire?
Street artists like Banksy, Hera, Space Invader...children's book illustrators Shaun Tan and Graeme Base...Doug Bartlett (Nick Morris and Dave Bowers)...the work they produce is beautiful and the processes they use mind blowing!

Can you describe your creative process?
It's not really organised enough to describe it as a process...the ideas are constantly bubbling away, ideas and images become sketches, some of which are abandoned immediately and then often turn up in later work. Relatively few are worked and reworked through to the final stage. I tend to jump around a lot. Different styles, different media, I get really carried away....there are so many ideas, so much inspiration all around, new things to try...it's exciting rewarding obsessive compulsive joyful chaos!!

Then I have to go back to my gardening work and it all simmers back down to bubbles again. Until my next day off...

What can make your day?
Most of my daily feel-good moments come from connecting with people in some way...sharing a laugh with Phil, a brief exchange with a stranger down at the shops, coffee and chats with a friend, getting an email from someone I haven't heard from for a while. All that stuff means a lot to me.

Favourite Quote?
'An artist cannot fail - it is success to be one'
My mum passed that one on to me...not sure where it came from, but it means a lot to me. Not just the literal meaning, which in itself is wonderful, but it also speaks volumes about the support I get from her. She wrote it on the back of an old envelope and gave it to me years ago, when I was feeling like a complete failure and making a bit of a mess of my life. I still have it, it's one of my treasures.

ROCKET STUDIO cards featuring the painted illustrations on board.

Sophie can be contacted at rocketstudio@yahoo.com.au. She works out of Ocean Grove, Victoria, Australia. Her work can also be seen at the QUARC market held in Point Lonsdale on a regular basis.

All designs (c) Sophie Read 2012