Ideas from Boredom by Stephanie Cusick-Markerink

An oil painting.

About this project: "Oil on canvas. 16X16. What do you think about when your thoughts drift into space? I love the look on a persons face when you know their mind is somewhere else, lost in their imagination. Boredom creates an opportunity for creativity, a platform for ideas to be nurtured. This portrait captures that moment, separated from reality but lost in possibility."

Scroll down to see this entry and to find out more about the contributing artist.

Painting entry

About the artist: "Steph Markerink is a Melbourne based artist with a focus on painting in the area of portraiture and botanical art. Steph will be graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Art History and English Literature at the end of 2020 with plans to pursue a career in arts management and/ curation. Having moved from regional NSW in 2017, Steph's work is heavily influenced by natural aesthetics; the beauty of an unaltered being, seperate from their external world. During the Melbourne Lockdown Steph has founded the 'Our Shared Fence' Lockdown Street Festival which encourages everyone to decorate their fence to bring colour, life and a sense of community back to their streets (check out @oursharedfence to see more!). In addition to this, Steph runs her own professional art practice with online art workshops for adults and kids."

We asked, our artists answered: why does creativity matter now?  "Creativity has never been more important. I have made an effort to use my creative practice as a safe haven away from the troubles of the covid-world. I have recently started creating more botanical works as a way of paying homage to my childhood in the country. Through this, art has offered both a distraction from the challenges we're currently facing, but also a reminder that despite how challenging and ugly our lives may seem, the world still holds so much beauty and compassion if we can remember to look for it."