Eloise Short is a hero of the modern Australian floral. She creates intricate and colourful designs inspired by her life in the Blue Mountains. Eloise’s skills in painting and design composition are undeniably remarkable.
Eloise demonstrates how design can be used to draw attention to nature and the unique beauty of the nation. This in turn leads us to review conservation and protection of what we hold most precious.
Tell us about your design Aesthetic?
My aesthetic is constantly evolving but over the last few years I’ve been doing fairly detailed, representational botanical illustrations utilising certain drawing techniques and I feel like there’s still a lot to explore in this genre, but I like to mix things up a bit by using a few different mediums which changes the aesthetic. I work a lot with gouache paint, ink or pen, then tweak colours and layouts in Photoshop. I’ve also recently invested in a digital illustration tablet and have been creating digital illustrations. That’s been a really exciting addition to my work practice.
How did you come to work as a surface and textile designer?
I studied Fine Art after high school, but realised when I finished studying that I was drawn to fashion design and pattern design. While I was looking into that, I stumbled across the Textile Design course at RMIT and realised it was a perfect fit. I completed the course and never looked back.
Much of your work is inspired by native flora, you obviously feel a strong connection to nature, what messages do you like to convey with design?
I’ve been focusing a lot on Australian Flora in recent years, which has probably come about because of our move to the Blue Mountains 10 years ago. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by stunning bushland and scenery and we spend a lot of time walking and being in nature. I love the fact that Australian plants/ flowers (and animals for that matter) are often (weirdly) unique. Their beauty is quite different to that of plants in the northern hemisphere. It’s not alway on show and you have to seek them out and look closely at their unusual characteristics, but the beauty is there. I guess I like to put these lesser known species in the spotlight (so many of which are becoming increasingly stressed by global warming and habitat destruction).
Much of your work is inspired by native flora, you obviously feel a strong connection to nature, what messages do you like to convey with design?
I’ve been focusing a lot on Australian Flora in recent years, which has probably come about because of our move to the Blue Mountains 10 years ago. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by stunning bushland and scenery and we spend a lot of time walking and being in nature. I love the fact that Australian plants/ flowers (and animals for that matter) are often (weirdly) unique. Their beauty is quite different to that of plants in the northern hemisphere. It’s not alway on show and you have to seek them out and look closely at their unusual characteristics, but the beauty is there. I guess I like to put these lesser known species in the spotlight (so many of which are becoming increasingly stressed by global warming and habitat destruction).
What does a day in the life of Eloise Short look like?
Prior to lockdown, a regular weekday involved getting my primary school age kids off to school, then practically running home to get as much client work or self driven work done as I could within school hours. Then I’d pick my kids up and we’d do all the things that kids that age do in the afternoon. Depending on how busy I was, I would often do some extra work once they’d gone to bed. I don’t love working in the evening but sometimes, it’s not optional. Since lockdown and homeschooling though, it’s a whole new world. I work whenever I can squeeze it in because my partner is an essential worker so I’m now chief ‘home schooler’. It’s been a big adjustment and a pretty intense exercise in patience and flexibility. Now we start everyday with a bush walk (which I realise is an incredible privilege). It’s become our number 1 routine and has been the silver lining for me in this lockdown…… plus I’ve discovered if we don’t do it, it’s total chaos for the rest of the day! My thoughts are with everyone who is struggling with lockdown or other Covid life complications.
When creating designs are they an organic development or a well planned concept?
I usually spend a good amount of time researching subject matter and compiling lots of different inspirational references, so by the time I start sketching I usually have a solid theme and a design concept in mind. Once I start though, I just go with what’s working and sometimes the final artwork ends up quite different to how I had initially imagined it would look
We are proud to have Eloise represented in our Artwork Library
