Perth Voice Interactive

ARTIST Louise Farnay has a fascinating lineage – her mum and grandmother were haute couture fashion designers for socialites in Adelaide and her Cornish ancestors were Rundell & Rundell, jewellers to the crown of England.

Farnay has clearly inherited their attention-to-detail – her stunning hyper-realistic paintings take hundreds of hours to complete.

But she has shunned high society and gone down a more organic route with her art.

“I am inspired by my lifelong connection to the ocean,” she says.

“Through my art, I aim to capture the fluidity, depth and mysterious beauty of the sea. 

“Growing up along Western Australia’s 12,000km of vast and arid coastline of the Indian Ocean, has profoundly shaped my artistic vision.”

In her latest solo exhibition, Farnay pays tribute to the ocean and also shines a light on endangered wildlife in Australia.

But it’s not a didactic affair and the paintings are whimsical and fun, while conveying a serious message about the environment.

There’s an entertaining mix of styles with slightly abstract landscapes rubbing shouldering with detailed ocean scenes.

Farnay clearly loves putting animals in surreal situations – one painting shows an echidna pulling a bathtub of emus across the outback.

“Did you know flamingoes roamed Australia’s outback over 20-25 million years ago but became extinct here when the inland lakes dried up?” she says. 

 “So, I have featured flamingos, echidnas and black swans walking off an arc in one of my paintings.  

“It saddens me that Australia is the worst country in the world for road kill, our wildlife is becoming extinct due to fires, and so many of our unique wildlife is under grave threat of extinction.”  

The hyper-realistic paintings of women swimming are stunning and could easily be mistaken for a photograph.

“The hyper-realism came from deep grief when my wonderful extremely creative and nurturing mum passed away seven years ago,” Farnay says. 

I was numbly flicking through social media when I saw an image which struck a chord with me.  It was a girl in water.  I felt an attachment to it, so I decided to try to paint it. 

“That really was the start of around 12 or more hyper-realistic paintings I have completed so far, all which take anywhere from 150 hours to well over 400.”

When she was 22, Farnay left Australia to go exploring. Most folk do a gap year, but she travelled and lived in Europe and Asia for more than 25 years and her work has been collected in more than 30 cities across the globe.

“Of the 80-plus countries I have travelled to, I would have to say Japan inspired me the most, by far,” she says.

“I lived there for six years.  Japanese culture, history, and customs are immensely diverse, as are the galleries, the artists, restaurants, interior design, gardens and everything else. 

“The Japanese are such an articulate race. I observed that everything was presented or created to perfection”. 

But home is where the heart is and Farnay eventually returned to Perth a decade ago, where she enjoys painting, exhibiting, accepting commissions and of course – swimming.   

Farnay may never achieve the fame of her Cornish ancestors Rundell & Rundell, whose jewellery is displayed in the Tower of London, but perhaps she has the greatest gift of all on her doorstep – the natural beauty of Western Australia.

“I just love the gentle fluidity of the merging hues of paint whilst I am in the process of creation,” she says. “I am inspired by currents, tides, reef walls, and the flow of the ocean, inviting you to lose yourself in the mesmerising ocean hues.”

The Louise Farnay Exhibition is at Palette, 1 Freeman Loop, North Fremantle from January 16 – February 16. For more info see louisefarnay.com.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK