Newtown botanical artist Amanda Blake-Sutterby explains the intricacies of her work to JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Art versus science, quietude versus busyness and messy creativity versus tidiness.
At first thought, these areas seem to be at war with each other.
But in Amanda Blake-Sutterby’s life they offer balance and symmetry.
And it’s actually her chosen visual stream of botanical art that provides Amanda with the solution to the competing sides of her personality.
“Art balances out my personality,” Amanda confides in her Newtown studio.
“It’s a source of comfort.
“Normally I never sit still, I even eat standing up. I’m always running, its hectic, there’s chaos, I’m full of nervous energy.”
That’s in part because of Amanda’s other profession as a physiotherapist, which keeps her constantly on the move.
“You don’t sit as a physio, you’re always moving around your client, working from different angles.
“But when I’m painting I can just sit and work and focus right down on minute detail for hours and hours.
“In the quiet of evening, when there’s no distraction, I can get lost in it. Sometimes I finally lift my head to discover its 2.30am.”
Read the full story in the latest Geelong Coast Magazine – in newsagents now.
