Our Artisan Project is back with a run of organic cotton tees from Surf Coast resident and funkadelic queen of landscapes Kat Tillman.
Kat Tillman is an emerging visual artist who lives and works in Wadawurrung (Jan Juc). Having grown up in a small coastal town 10 minutes north of Wollongong, her colourful paintings pay homage to her time spent gallivanting down by the ocean and in the surrounding bushland
Tell us about what inspired this piece?
The inspiration for this piece, as you can see, is quite fun. There's a little dolphin down there that I love. With so much information and news about climate change, it can be daunting and overwhelming. Often, thinking about the environment can be a scary topic. However, nature and the environment are wonderful and marvelous things. I wanted to bring the fun back into discussing the environment because, especially here on the surf coast where I live, we're fortunate to have beautiful walks, surf spots, hikes, and more. I aimed to infuse some playfulness into the conversation about the serious topic of climate change.
What organisation did you choose to donate to and why?
I've chosen to donate to the Surf Coast Energy group because they're local to where I live, and I believe in creating local action within the community. It's important to focus on localized efforts rather than broad initiatives, as it helps people feel directly involved and motivated to make a difference. I hope my donation contributes to educating people about better ways to protect our beautiful coastline from the impacts of climate change.
Can you describe your creative process or the techniques you use in your art?
When choosing the subjects, colours, and themes for my paintings, I draw inspiration from everyday life and observations. It's about being curious and looking at things through a different lens. For instance, I was at a friend's mid-century house near the beach, and their bathroom had these amazing bright pink tiles. While some might find it daggy, my brain started ticking, and I thought about turning it into a painting. I find excitement in transforming potentially mundane settings into a cartoonish, brightly coloured wonderland.
Are their any specific artists or art movements that have influenced your work?
In terms of artists and art movements that inspire me, I've always been drawn to Australian artist Kone for his amazing use of colour and his ability to evolve his style while maintaining his signature touch. I've also gained inspiration from nineties bamboo designers like Richmond Bassar. Growing up, I loved Australian cartoons like Little Elvis and Widget the World Watcher, which still influence my work today. Sometimes I find myself revisiting old cartoons or children's books to discover new drawing techniques or colour combinations.
How do you choose the colours, themes, or subjects for your artwork?
Depends on the brief or the idea but generally it’ll start with a brain storm and then it’ll grow and develop as I illustrate. A lot of the time the initial idea isn’t even that strong but I’ll think of things to put in as I put pen to paper. Colours are probably the easiest part, that all comes together once the artwork is pretty final.
Where can we check out more of your art?
You can find me on my website and IG: www.kattillman.com.au @kattillman
The Box Fit tee is what we're all about. The box fit it as you may suspect. The sizing is the same as our regular fit but is a little shorted and wider giving it that box look.
Place the garment on a flat surface.
Measure the diametre from point to point.
Measurements are not taken as the circumference (around).
Our female model is 166cm and wearing a size Small.
Our male model is 178cm and wearing a size Large.
We’re proud partners of 1% For The Planet. We donate 1% of all sales (not profit) to environmental grassroots organisations of our choosing, as a self imposed environmental tax. This has a real impact and is our way of giving back and offsetting the impact Yuki has on the environment.