Still Life: Estelle Moughton

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Born and educated in Australia, but living on the other side of the planet, Estelle Moughton is a self-taught painter. She has worked as a model for fashion editorial, music videos and fine art projects, but she is most often found with brush in hand.

From her base in Stockholm, Moughton creates abstract works that resemble cityscapes, dancing couples, jousting families and ghostly faces. They are the perfect partners to gothic music and Nordic pagan practices. Her trademark bob pops up all over the internet, while her paintings show up at events like the Melbourne Spoken Work Festival and on album covers. They hang on walls and lurk in shadows with emotional intensity.

We asked Moughton some questions about her creative approach.

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What are the inspirations for your creative work?

I draw inspiration from my lived experience. For example, pivotal moments in my life or the deep emotions I am feeling.

It is a process of getting that out onto canvas. It’s a form of therapy.

Who or what are your current influences?

From a young age, I was very drawn to Salvador Dali and his incredibly vivid surreal paintings. Science fiction has also been a massive influence on me. I began reading Terry Pratchett novels at age seven. At age eleven, I saw Alien and Aliens, and that led me to an obsession with H.R. Giger. Most recently, in the past decade, I’ve grown to love artists such as Francis Bacon, Picasso, Jackson Pollock and Zdzislaw Beksinski.

Which materials do you like to work with most?

I work with acrylic and house paints. Sometimes watercolour. I find oil incredibly bothersome and dislike the texture.

I love painting on panel board and canvas, especially; but, as I lack a large space in which to paint at the moment, I am mainly using high quality paper, instead.

How important is social media for you to communicate about your work?

Very. I would not be able to have reached so many different people around the world in such a short amount of time (I began painting last year) without it.

What are the songs that you can’t live without?

Oh, man. This is a tough one! Ok. I will try to narrow it down to five or so.

• Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
• Public Pervert – Interpol
• Ride A White Horse – Goldfrapp
• The Order Of Death – Public Image
• Joga – Björk

For anyone interested in collecting your art, what is the best way to find it?

The best ways to find my art are via my two main platforms online:

Instagram: instagram.com/__estelle_m_abstract__

Facebook: facebook.com/EstelleMoughtonabstract

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