Erin Flannery

Erin Flannery has a remarkable ability to make black, white and neutral shades look full of life; to tell an enchantingly playful story using silhouettes and the simplest of shapes. Inspired by fashion, contemporary culture and everything weird and wonderful, Erin creates stunning images of girls and women using acrylics, aerosol, pencil and other materials on linen. The result is undeniably glamorous, and charming and whimsical at the same time.

I always like to try to find out more about these emerging Australian artists, but it’s usually pretty difficult to find any information. So, I can’t give you much of a profile of what Erin does or who she is- all I can do is show you some of these images and tell you how gorgeous I think they are.

There is something very fun and feminine about these pictures- the witty celebration of fashion is clear in her titles (like ‘GC Gwen quickly discovered the flowers on her new shopper tote were not edible’ and ‘Sorbet Swimming Cap (Not the Best in Water)’) and in her focus on fanciful accessories and jewellery.

The girls in the pictures are so effortlessly cool, so nonchalant in their outlandish headpieces, not caring about missing an arm or being fused with another body. This attitude is also reflected in the subdued colour palette- these images so casually gorgeous that they don’t even need bright colours to draw you into their world. The subtle use of light shading and neutrals against black and white bring a sense of drama that captivates your attention without having to beg for it.

You can imagine these paintings adorning the walls of the most expensive, elegantly decorated houses, as well as in the most indie of cafes. And I think that widely-reaching appeal is something that will lead Miss Flannery to enormous success someday.

Check out her blog or the Anthea Polson Gallery website for more images.