Artist in focus > Mia Phillips
Mia Phillips
“Driven by the desire to create from an early age, my journey has led to a passion for oil painting and exploring the depths of oneself through art.”
Mia is a young Australian artist, born and bred on the East Coast. Living respectfully on Bundjalung land, her life has been largely defined by endless coastlines and bushland.
“Art has always been a really vital part of my life, I pretty much started creating as soon as I was old enough to hold a pencil. Throughout my teenage years art became a tool of self exploration and expression, it allowed me to deeply analyse my personal experiences and make sense of life’s adversities. I decided to start creating art professionally and selling my work almost 2 years ago, after gaining traction on social media and recognising the demand for my art.”
How would you describe the style and themes of your work?
My work is heavily inspired by my love for the ocean, drawing on the fortune of my experiences growing up in a small coastal town along the east coast and learning to surf. I love taking the beauty of the external world and interlacing it with emotions of the internal world to create vibrant, ethereal oceanscapes. My work is often described as the epitome of “feminine summer” as I focus largely ON themes of female surf culture and a sense of tropical bliss, while allowing an undercurrent of rich emotion and nostalgia to float through and connect to my audience.
Are you earning from your art?
I sell a number of print copies of my art and original works all around the world, and I am delighted to share that I recently sold out completely of all the original works I had on my website! I feel very fortunate to be an artist in this day and age where making a living from your own creations is now a much more accessible reality, thanks to the benefits of social media and what not. Selling print copies of my artworks has also been an absolute game changer as it delivers an almost passive income for me while I focus on creating new artworks.
What feedback have you received so far?
I am insanely blessed by the community I’ve grown so far, I receive an abundance of support and love for my work. It is such a special thing to share an artwork that feels so intimate and personal, like it has been pulled straight from my soul, and have it connect and be felt by others on the same level.
Do you have a day job? Or are you a full-time artist?
I have officially been a full-time artist since the beginning of this year! Which is super exciting, along with a whole lot of pressure and unknowns. Before that I was working part time in retail while I focused on growing my business and worked as hard as I could to create a sustainable career for myself as an artist. Becoming a full-time artist has been my wildest dream for the last few years, and I now feel very proud of myself to officially claim the title.
Any upcoming projects?
I am currently working on a few interesting collaborations! My favourite being an exciting design for an Australian swimwear company called Love From Janet, I’ve always dreamed of collaborating with like-minded brands. I have also been working hard on my next collection of original works over the last few months, which should hopefully be released later this year. Lots of exciting things to come.
Why do you choose to print your art with PosterFactory?
I choose to work with PosterFactory because of their high quality yet affordable print options. What I love most is the drop shipping service they offer, it saves me so much time and hassle that I get to put towards actually creating my art instead. The customer service and personal communication is also incredible, I love being kept in the loop with what’s happening with my orders.
