Mont Marte is proud to share with you short biographies on the Australian Artists who help us develop the amazing artwork you find on our range of products.
Joe Thompson
My philosophy in art is to just try it! My first real recollection of creating art was a bird of prey that I did when I was 5, I would have created art before my bird, but this, I think, was a defining point where I realised that art was a form of magic! And I still do, I find you enter into a state during painting where you forget yourself.
After leaving school I completed a diploma in graphic arts. In the ensuing years I continued on my journey of artistic discovery whilst working in the ever changing world of graphic art and advertising. I experimented with any medium I could lay my hands on, and had Art lessons. I also studied Life drawing, sculpture and plein Air painting whenever I could.
My role at Mont Marte is to develop Lesson plans that people can view in a movie format on their computers, each lesson we film has a lesson plan in a PDF format that can be downloaded and printed out. I also travel around the country demonstrating Mont Marte’s wonderful products to live audiences.
I feel honoured to be able to pass on a few of the lessons I have acquired along the way for Mont Marte, I hope also to pass on my enthusiasm and love for art and help convey that anyone can do artwork that will give them a great feeling of satisfaction.
Although most people say a career in art is not a wise choice, I pursued my passion in the creative industries.I studied 3D, 2D and stop motion animation, traditional painting techniques and worked as a makeup, special effects and conceptual artist.I now utilise my range of skills creating videos and artwork for Mont Marte.
Mont Marte has given me a greater understanding of business and so many wonderful opportunities.Through my work at Mont Marte I hope to encourage people to have a go at painting and experiment with different media.With Mont Marte products it's surprisingly affordable and greatly enjoyable.
Michael is an Aboriginal from Charleville, south west Queensland and a descendant of the Kullilla tribe from the Thargomindah/Eulo region [on his father's side] and from the Muruwari People from Goodooga/Brewarrina region of north-west New South Wales [on his mother's side] who can trace their traditional trade and diplomatic links with Central Desert as well as South Australian and Northern New South Wales' Aboriginal Communities. Together with this rich indigenous background and unique style of interpretation of his cultural heritage. Michael is able to represent a unique perspective in the visual and performing arts. This is evident in his artwork, craftsmanship, didgeridoo playing and storytelling as a result of blending his own contemporary or urban indigenous style with the traditional style of the Kullilla Peoples under his business name of Dreamtime Kullilla-Art.
Now living in Queensland's southeast Queensland, Michael is able to use his love of the abundant native fauna and flora of the coastal waters and landmarks, together with the rich local aboriginal heritage of this region and encompass this in his works of art. Added to this is his personal history and passion for sharing his love of the aboriginal culture and an art form that dates back centuries, a tradition that Michael is proud to be able to bring to the modern era.
Michael has been blessed with the gift of art that has been passed on to him by the spirits of his ancestors. Michael's works of art are his interpretation of the lovely dreaming stories he grew up with. He is able to combine modern art materials and techniques with traditional patterns, styles and subject matter.
I am a full-time student studying Fine Art and Animation at Griffith University. I enjoy working for Mont Marte - I create images and designs for a range of their children's products. It can get very tough keeping a regular part-time or casual job while studying full time but I find that Mont Marte are very flexible and understanding. This means that I can have fun and be creative without feeling pressured and hopefully pass that joy on to the children.
For Mont Marte, I have drawn images for a new magnetic canvas product, made paintings for their kid's canvas range and am currently working on models for a new range of mould-your-own plaster magnets sets. At home and at Uni I work mostly in watercolour and pastel which are made very affordable for students like me by Mont Marte. But my favourite products are a large folder I use to carry my big sheets of paper around and a handy callapsible easel that I use in my plein air (out-door) painting classes.
I'm 23 and live in Melbourne. Art has always been an important part of my life. It has definitely been a passion of mine ever since I was a child. I started my first private drawing lessons at the age of seven where I learnt the basics of drawing. Over the years I have done various classes such as life drawing, watercolour and portraiture. After I finished High School I studied Visual Arts at TAFE which is where I learned to use oil paint, my favourite medium.
My work is predominantly figurative, and people provide a constant inspiration for my art as I like to explore human identity and emotion. Portraiture painting is what I enjoy most of all as I get the most satisfaction out of trying to capture the essence of the person I'm painting. Apart from painting, I dabble in drawing, writing and most recently photography. Photography is an instant medium and I use it as a reference for when I'm painting.
When Mont Marte approached me to design the packaging for the 12ml oil, acrylic and watercolour paints I was unsure that my art would be suitable for the job. I created three portraits with each of the mediums and fortunately Mont Marte was happy with the design. I am so happy that Mont Marte gave me the opportunity to have a piece of my artwork on their products, and hopefully it helps promote the quality and affordability of their great range of products.
I have been in the advertising/marketing industry for over 25 years. I am a traditionally trained graphic designer, yes from way back in the days of using a drawing board, T-square, black ink and gumbo to create press-ready finished art! I was fortunate enough to experience the transition from traditional art studio to digital art studio where I saw many changes and developments that made my work interesting and exciting....and much easier!
Having the traditional knowledge helped me explore and gather experience in different areas - t-shirt printing/graphics, books/publications, marketing materials, advertising, corporate ID/branding, game/product packaging, and now the packaging of the full range of Mont Marte products. For the past 6 years I have been working with Mont Marte International providing them with all their graphic design needs. They are a great company to work with and it's wonderful that they support Australian Artists.
I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. As a child, it was about illustrating my imagination. To enhance my drawing skills I practiced copying pictures of wildlife from my parents' encyclopedias. I favoured giraffes.I continued developing my skills through school, private art classes and TAFE.
School taught me basic technical aspects of drawing, painting and sculpture but I found it most beneficial to acquire new techniques through experimentation. The cost of most art materials on a student budget discouraged this. When I discovered the brand, Mont Marte, with their affordable prices on excellent quality art materials, my eyes were opened to endless possibilities.
I was absolutely overjoyed when I was approached to do an illustration for the package of ‘Mont Marte® Skin Tints Pastel Pencils’.The sketch was to show the selected range of colours were suitable for portraits and figurative drawing.As an adult, my interest in drawing giraffes progressed to an interest in people so this commission was very motivating.
Since then I have completed several other illustrations for Mont Marte® products including sketching sets, graphite, pastel pencils and charcoal.
For me, being an artist is challenging and compelling.An artist's brain, eyes, heart and hands work together to create something beautiful and unique.I have immense gratitude for Mont Marte's support of my art.
Growing up in Bryon Bay, I was constantly surrounded by creativity; as long as I can remember I have had a passion and appreciation for the arts and learned the joys of painting, drawing and photography through my high school years.
I was constantly encouraged to pursue my passion and after finishing high school in 2003 I then went on to study Graphic Design at the North Coast Institute of TAFE. Here I learned the endless possibilities of digital art as well as furthering my knowledge of drawing and photography.
After studying I travelled the world for a year during which time I continued to explore my interest in photography and illustrations. On returning home I worked as a graphic designer on a full time basis. During this time I was thrilled to be able to create some sketches for Mont Marte for the packaging of their bleed proof paper and graphic markers. I think it's wonderful that Mont Marte supports Australian Artists and thank them for their support.
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