The Outer East is abound with talented artists with plenty of opportunities to admire and enjoy their works, and it also attracts may artist from far who wish to exhibit in the local galleries and creative scene.
Some of the best can even be found all around us in our townships, through a number of eye-catching public and street art displays.
Grand Designs feature artist Elizabeth Gleeson has now completed 18 murals in the Yarra Ranges and Dandenong Ranges region and said getting to create her art on a large scale is a privilege and honour she never takes for granted.
“To my surprise, my unique, patterned, folk-nouveau style of artwork has really resonated with a large and varied audience, and I feel incredibly privileged and grateful that the kind of art I love to create, is one that people are connecting with and want on their walls,” she said.
“One of my favourite aspects of creating large scale art in public, is the distinct connection to the place and people you develop as you create.
“I’m often spending a whole week or two in one distinct spot, and you become really familiar with the specific birdsong, the way the light falls at every time of day and the locals with their ‘doggos’ who check in on your progress on their daily walk.”
Some of the public art Ms Gleeson has contributed to include the Graff Street project on Blacksmiths Way in Belgrave, the mural on the wall of the SSU Studio and Gallery in Ferny Creek, ‘Flower Child’ (with Stampz) in Ferntree Gully and the floral tribute mural on Main Street, Monbulk.
Ms Gleeson said she is consistently humbled by the vulnerable nature of the conversations she has with passers-by.
“People seem to open up to me quite quickly when I’m painting, and I think it’s due to an exchange of openness; I’m already imparting a deep part of myself onto the wall, and the things people share with me are equally deep and personal,” she said.
“Great public art will encourage a sense of community pride, ownership and connection, it will enhance the visual and cultural landscape, and can provide a unique avenue for important societal conversations and advocacy.
“In doing all this, public art generates effective place activation and a general sense of vibrancy, wonder and inspiration, where once may have been a dreary, unused corner.”
Artist and graphic designer Paul Sonsie of Sonsie Studios has contributed to a wide range of public works, including numerous in Healesville as well as in Lilydale and Chirnside Park.
Mr Sonsie said the mural he’s most proud of is his latest work — a 37-metre-long kangaroo painted on the side of the Coles car park in Healesville titled Marram (the Woiwurrung word for kangaroo).
“The project was called A Giant Leap Forward, paying homage to the creative energy and cultural progress happening throughout the Yarra Valley, I wanted the mural to be bold and instantly recognisable — something everyone could relate to, from young kids to the elderly, locals to tourists,” he said.
“One of my early murals in Healesville’s East End featured an ibis — a bird often misunderstood or dismissed, but still striking in its form and presence. That artwork, now hidden behind a new apartment building, was about finding beauty in the everyday and challenging public perceptions.”
“Another meaningful project was the graphic artwork at Chirnside Park (flight-themed) playground, which celebrates local biodiversity with digital illustrations of native species such as the Kestrel, Black Swan and Grey-headed Flying Fox. It was a chance to connect children and families with the environment through playful and educational design.”
Mr Sonsie has also done works on the front facade of the Healesville Aldi, the digitally designed mural on The Memo in Healesville and the mural at Locavore in Lilydale song others.
Mr Sonsie said what he loves most about public art is that it brings the artwork directly to the people.
“Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy seeing work in galleries — but for many, that’s not something they regularly engage with, public art breaks down those barriers and makes the experience accessible, immediate and part of everyday life.
“It also has the power to help culturally brand a community. A mural can transform a blank, often-tagged wall into something vibrant and meaningful. It can activate underused spaces, create new layers of experience in a town, and even inspire other creatives in the area.”
Another unique public art project that has taken place in recent years include the water tank project, where local CFA water tanks received a makeover.
Gunditjmara/ Kirrae Whurrong artist Fiona Clarke, who also has strong ancestral ties to the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung through her Granny Louisa Briggs, designed the tanks in McMahons Creek and Kalorama and said she loves creating art and as a strong proud Aboriginal woman, she enjoys sharing her culture and stories.
“I also love working with communities Indigenous and non-Indigenous to create special places and spaces for them to enjoy,” she said.
“It adds a big sense of community and happiness through local stories, and lots of colour which helps brighten up an area and lifts morale in the town or space, would like to see more.
“I love how my Sista Mandy Nicholson does her public art/street art projects she always does such deadly inspiring Aboriginal art and lives her culture, her public artwork on the water tank beside mine at Kalorama Recreation Reserve tells the narrative of Buln’ Buln’ (the lyrebird), the keeper of language.”
Ms Clarke also worked on the McMahons Creek tank with her husband Ken McKean who is also an artist.
Brad Colling of Buzzart is a local artist who has worked on various murals in and around the Outer East and said he likes to make art that everyone appreciates, whether they are two or 102.
“I just want it to be something that means something to people, I try to research everything as much as I can before I paint something and generally people give me free license to paint what I want to paint,” he said.
“I tend to go and research history or what’s important in the local area and try to capture that so there’s something in it for everyone,”
“I also like painting with young people because I think when someone believes in you more than you believe in yourself, that’s when you grow, so if you trust a young person to be a part of something bigger and something that everyone loves,it gives them a sense of pride but they also grow as people because I trust in them.”
Mr Colling has painted the murals on the wall of the florist in Wandin, contributed to some along the trail at the old Wandin station, in the Anzac garden at Mt Evelyn RSL, murals at various local schools and a bit further afield at Maroondah Hospital as well as the bridge on Ringwood Street in Ringwood for Ringwood RSL.
Director of Blender Studios Adrian Doyle has ventured out to the Outer East for a pair of works, responsible for murals in Mooroolbark and Lilydale and said he thinks public art is really good for our communities because of the memories it can create.
“I remember as a kid driving past something like ‘The Skipping Girl’ and always thinking ‘Oh man, Dad look at that’ and it becomes an icon of suburbia or an icon of childhood,” he said.
“Kids are pointing it out as ‘Oh look it’s that big face girl’ or ‘Oh look it’s the cat piece’ or and they tend to have their own stories or their own ownership over it that goes beyond me.
“Once I come and I make the mural, in a strange way it becomes property of the community, not necessarily mine.”
Blender Studios works can be found alongside on Brice Avenue in Mooroolbark and Lions Park in Lilydale.
