Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Eloise Gebbie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Eloise thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been one of the most interesting investments you’ve made – and did you win or lose? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

The best investment I’ve made as an artist was actually through Facebook marketplace! Back in 2020, I painted a piece on a blank skate deck for my partners birthday. I thought it would be a one off, but I actually enjoyed it so much I started to look for old skate decks for repurposing. I found an ad from a pro-skaters dad, he said he had ~30 decks sat in his garage and needed the space back. He was selling them for $30 aka $1 a deck!
I turned up to pick them up and he actually had closer to 90 decks to go, still for only $30. I definitely did not need that many to paint on, so I picked through and found the best condition decks, and donated them to a couple of local skate groups in the area. One group was helping kids & adults get in to skating for the first time, and the other group was a local indigenous skate group.
The rest I have been slowly making my way through ever since!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I paint under the name Art Decko. I started painting during school, took a break when I went to university and then started up again a few years back.
My initial focus was turning old, used skate decks into pieces of wall art. I have since expanded and now paint on all sorts of disused wood, canvas, thrift store frames etc. I take a lot of pet portrait commissions and absolutely love to turn people’s fur babies into pieces of art they can admire.
I also paint a lot of surreal pieces, and specialise in surreal portraiture. I like to take inspiration from my surroundings as well as interesting dreams I’ve had, or random thoughts that pop into my head.
I feel so privileged that people are interested in either purchasing my work, or commissioning a piece from me.
I do generally prefer to paint on repurposed materials, as I feel there is often so much beauty left in something that has been discarded by someone else. I will paint on new canvas if that is what my client would prefer though!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Honestly, I feel like the biggest thing a person can do to support an artist is to just interact with us! A simple hi at an art gallery, a comment on an Instagram post – these things all go a long way in keeping creatives motivated and feeling seen.
As a society – trying to keep spaces open that allow for artists of all levels to exhibit their work, and meet other creatives. Cost can be prohibitive in some spaces, which sometimes doesn’t help for fostering a great artist community. This is becoming harder and harder in society these days but these spaces are SO important for the creative community.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Gosh that’s a hard one as there’s so many rewarding aspects of being an artist! I think for me, when I can finally reveal a finished commission to the client. I love fully talking an idea through, showing a few sketches and then seeing someone’s reaction to the finished product. A lot of the time when I take pet portraits, the client is wanting to remember something specific about their pet. I’ve had requests where a client wanted their dog surrounded by sweet potatoes (their favourite), or set in a Ghostbusters style scene. Honestly the more out there, the better!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://art-decko.ca
• Instagram: art_decko_
• Other: TikTok – @art_decko_