Six questions with Emily Ferretti, the young artist who has mastered dreamy landscape paintings

Emily Ferretti’s happy place is her studio, where she paints intense landscapes that border on the abstract.

We spoke with Emily about how she discovered art, career highlights and some of her favourite contemporaries.

Q: Tell us a little about your background, including how you came to be an artist.

A: I grew up on a property in country Victoria. I was always interested in making things with my hands. As a child, I always loved collecting things I thought were interesting. I was not gifted at drawing but I enjoyed it and my family always encouraged my creativity.

At the end of high school, I visited an artist’s studio for the first time. I was taken with the idea of a space to produce work. Soon after, I got into art school and continue to dedicate myself to my painting practice full-time.

Q: How does a typical day unfold?

A: It’s a bit different every day, as I have small children, but it starts out early – with coffee. I get into the studio and usually do some drawing and then move onto the paintings. I’m always listening to podcasts. Putting my headphones on is one of the most important tools for keeping me focused.

I usually have about a three-hour window of production before I need a break. I typically do two blocks of three hours and then go home. Sometimes I’ll go back for a few hours later in the evening, depending on my deadlines.

Q: Blues and greens feature prominently in many of your paintings. What draws you to this palette?

A: This has been very true in past works but in my latest body of work warmer colours like reds and yellows are more prominent. Red was always so loaded with intensity and heat that I wasn’t ready to explore. Adding it in now has meant a substantial shift in range and mood for me.

Q: Can you name a few career highlights?

A: There have been many, including receiving the Australia Council’s Greene Street Studio Residency in New York in 2015, publishing a book of my work with Perimeter Editions in 2017 and recently being named a finalist in the Ramsay Art Prize at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Q: What are you working on this year?

A: I recently had a solo show with Sophie Gannon Gallery at Sydney Contemporary, consisting of a suite of 28 new paintings. Most were landscapes packed with energy and colour. They had representational elements but teetered on the edge of abstraction.

Q: Can you name three artists working today whose art you admire?

A: David Hockney for his compositional brilliance, Alex Katz for the way he captures light in his work and Lois Dodd for her dedication to small, intimate motifs.