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

Maggi, appreciate you joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I grew up in a highly creative household and my parents encouraged creativity and self-expression through art and music. My mum is a ceramicist and also a social worker and she has been an inspiration to me in so much of my journey. She was very creative and had a studio in the shed behind our house where she created ceramics – I remember firing days where the kiln was fired up and we were not allowed too close and her studio shelves lined with ceramics in various stages of the process. She sold her wares at local craft markets and we would often spend the day with her helping set up and sell her beautiful mugs and plates – I have such fond memories of these days and I firmly believe that this has influenced me to always want to have my own creative business.

My parents have always supported me in everything I do and I don’t remember ever getting told that a dream was too big! I was always making stuff and trying to sell it so the entrepeneurial spirit was definitely there from a young age and this was definitely influenced by my parents and even grandparents who made beautiful timber dollhouse furniture and sold them at markets too. I have always been surrounded by creativity and creative expression.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My creative journey started just over 8 years ago now when I picked up my paint brushes again after going through some personal trauma.I started painting again to help me heal and during this time I had a moment of realising that life is too short not to follow my dreams of doing something creative with my life and I enrolled in a design course.

The course had a strong visual art focus, and I rediscovered my love for painting through experimenting with different mediums. I started sharing my art on Instagram and sold my first painting to a friend for $50 and I’ve been creating ever since. I now paint full time at my home studio and run my creative business selling original artworks and prints along with artist resources and coaching. The ability to create daily is a gift for which I am so grateful.

I create in a couple of different styles as I find it hard to confine myself to one style – I love experimenting as it energises me creatively and keeps things interesting in the studio! I do always return to my love of gestural abstraction with lots of texture and layers of colour creating interesting focus points. The one thing that doesn’t change is my love of bright colour palettes. I have always loved bright colours as they bring me so much happiness.

I also love using colours that make others happy as I feel we can all do with as much joy as we can, especially after the pandemic and the collective trauma that we all experienced as a result.

I am inspired by colour firstly and often see colour palettes and snippets of artworks when I close my eyes. I usually start with a loose palette in my head and then follow the paint where it wants to go. My artworks are intuitive and very much a reflection of my emotions and perceptions of the world and my place in it. I am very nostalgic and have vivid memories of moments and places. I often reflect on these as I paint and sometimes a colour or a moment in an artwork will take me back to a specific moment in time. Often these memories are from times spent in nature – as a child on the beach or at the river or playing in my grandmother’s beautiful garden. Nature is incredibly inspiring, and I am fascinated by the colours and patterns found everywhere around us in nature.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started sharing my art on social media nearly 9 years ago now when Instagram was in it’s beginning stages and it has been the single most important driver of my brand since then. I see a lot of artists kicking against social media, the algorithm, having to make content instead of art and this is something that I coach my students to refocus in a positive way and embrace this amazing free platform that enables them to show their work to a worldwide audience and connect with clients without having an agent, gallery representation or expensive marketing agency. These things all have their place in the art world but for artists to connect directly with their collectors social media is the absolute best.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I am hoping that my art and the colours that I use, along with my openness about mental health and how creativity is a great healer can help and inspire others to lean into their own creativity. I want to encourage everyone to connect with their own creative spark and allow themselves to tap into that flow state that creates calm, focus and dopamine. I love nothing more than seeing someone ignite that spark and the wonder that it brings in their life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.maggimcdonald.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggimcdonaldart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggimcdonaldartist

Image Credits
Little Lane Workshops