By Angie Hilton
Artist and mother of three Casey Burrill is bright, breezy and spontaneous.
I find myself feeling excited in her company, like she’s always about to reveal something fascinating. You never quite know where the conversation will go next.
I’ve been lucky enough to know Casey since she was a little baby crawling around on the floor while her mother Gayle Burrill taught me to sing.
Born into a long line of super talented women, Casey was singing before she was talking. Her mother, aunties, grandmother and sisters are all well renowned in Geelong for their angelic voices (you really want to be at a birthday with them when they bust out happy birthday in eight-part harmony).
Casey is a great example of why we should listen to the inner whispers of our soul.
It wasn’t until Casey was well established in her career as a primary teacher and had her own children that the whispers of her intuition grew louder, prompting her to follow her passion of painting.
By taking this leap of faith, Casey left the teaching world behind and is now hot property in the art world. Signed on by cutting edge interiors brand Fenton & Fenton, Casey’s paintings are selling for around $6000 a pop – and she just can’t keep up with the demand.
First things first, tell me about your births and your beautiful children.
Lexi: My heart starts racing when I think of this. It was so traumatic with Lexi as we nearly lost her. She got stuck and the next thing I knew the room was full of doctors and nurses. I was put under general. When I woke up everyone had held her before for me – not the birth story I’d pictured. I was only 23 but looking back I loved being a young mum. Lexi’s a real tomboy, she loves her sport.
Mika: I tried to labour naturally with Mika but it just wouldn’t progress, so I was forced to have another caesar. It really was quite easy. Mika will be on stage without a doubt, she’s constantly singing, dancing and coming to me as different characters each day. She’s very in touch with her emotions. She’ll tell her sister “that made me feel really uncomfortable”.
Otis: Once again, an easy planned caesar. I recovered really well – I think because I knew what I was in for by number three. He is such a cruisy boy. He seems to calm Mika down, as she can be a bit intense. He’s probably got Jarrod’s temperament.
Tell us about your life before painting?
After year 12 I was unsure of what direction to take. I come from a family full of teachers so it seemed like a natural career choice to make. I landed a job as an art teacher at Bellaire PS and really loved it. I’m very much an advocate for the arts in school, mainly because I know how essential it was for me throughout school. I can spot the kids that just need it. It makes them thrive.
How did you make the transition from teaching to painting?
I remember vividly, I was breastfeeding late at night and it just hit me how badly I wanted to be painting. I remember staring at a particular print in my home thinking ‘I could totally make that’. The next day I took the print into Geelong Art Supplies and picked the brain of the awesome staff there.
From there I went home and just played. I had sheets of paper everywhere, paint everywhere and I just experimented. I got totally lost in the moment and felt so energised by it. I knew deep in my soul this was something I needed to follow.
I decided in that moment to start an Instagram page and post my first piece. It was March 2016. It really just snowballed from there. I got my first commission and word started to spread. It’s fun to look back at my Instagram page as I can see how my work has developed over time.
So how did you go from first picking up the brush to getting into the esteemed Fenton & Fenton?
I’ve never been scared to dream big, so I thought, ‘what have I got to lose?’ I could let my mind go into a million reasons why I shouldn’t take a chance, or I can just email a submission to Fenton & Fenton right now. When they said yes I was in totally blown away.
My gut said to go big with my first piece, so I rang my framer to create a two-metre piece. I could visualise it being really detailed, so I just went for it. That was the piece that kick-started everything.
Not many people can call themselves a full-time artist. Was it hard to make that transition from having a stable job as a teacher?
When my first painting got released through Fenton & Fenton I had stockists from all over the world contacting me – from London, Dubai, Melbourne and Sydney all wanting commissions. It was so exciting, but incredibly overwhelming.
I actually had a breakdown. Coming from a very structured teaching background where I got told what to do, I suddenly had to make all my own big decisions.
I got to the stage that I couldn’t even look at my emails – there were just too many requests. To create once piece it can take anywhere from a week to months, so I couldn’t see how I’d ever keep up with the demand.
As I was literally having a meltdown at my daughter’s dance class. A kind lady who works on businesses just happened to be there (like an angel). She got firm with me and said, ‘You’re going to go home, clean your house, make a cup of tea then get a piece of paper and write down your big picture. What is you goal as an artist? What does it look like? From there it’s easy, you can then look at your emails and if they align with your goals then that’s a yes’.
I had to learn to say no and I felt terrible letting people down.
How do you balance motherhood with the new demands of your life as an artist?
I’ve learnt to feel it out. My life is always changing, as I love new challenges. When I get out of balance I can always feel it and I try to rectify it ASAP. My kids are usually the first to let me know if I get too busy. The hardest part is working from home. I still paint in my hallway as I don’t have a proper studio yet. I’m answering emails in the kitchen as I make the kids breakfast. It’s a little chaotic at times.
Do the kids ever get involved in painting?
Yes. Mika actually helped me create the last one I sold. She stood there for about an hour with a paintbrush doing her thing, while I was just getting all the texture done in the background. Her creative touch gave me the ideas for the next stages. I’m all about organic marks and kids are the best at that.
What did you love about the way your parents raised you? Were you encouraged to be creative?
I couldn’t ask for better parents. I really love hanging out with them.
I get my creative side from dad. His dad was a watercolour artist and we’d go to Tasmania to watch him paint. I can still smell the smells and picture the setting.
I need time to myself like dad does. He’s strong, quiet, loving and very supportive.
As for mum (takes a breath) … oh no, now I’m going to get emotional! I admire her so much because she takes risks. She’s always followed her dreams and stays true to herself. I know some people who devote their lives to their children and forget who they are. Mum never forgot who she was. We were made to fit in with what she was doing – and they are some of my best memories. If mum had to breastfeed while teaching singing, she would. I come from a whole family of strong women.
All the budding artists out there want to know how you approach a fresh new canvas?
I start with a good background or three or four layers. I use a spreader medium as the scale is usually quite big. I use scraping tools and scratching, but my pieces are quite smooth as I go over them with my hands a lot. Sometimes there are handprints on them. From there I just make a few marks and then it’s like a puzzle I piece together from images in my conscience. I use a lot of visualisation of what I want in my future – I guess it’s a bit like a vision board. You’ll see a lot of little shacks due to my obsession with having a property by the ocean one day. I try to make it subtle through scratching. For example, one lady came back to me way down the track and said, ‘I just found a whale in my painting’. At the time I painted it I remember I wanted to see the whales in Perth.
What are your future plans with art?
Number one is to find a studio to work from so I can get out of my hallway (laughs).
I love collaborating with other artists. I have a side project called Paint Smoothie with another Geelong artist Rebecca Kate. We do a layer each and then auction pieces for charity. There are so many great artists in Geelong we want to collaborate with and I love being able to give back in some way.
Thanks Casey, I think you’ve just brought hope to the little Picasso in all of us. Do you have any words of inspiration to leave us with?
Well I really love this quote. It always fires me up to live with more passion. “One life. Just one. Why aren’t we running like we are on fire towards our wildest dreams”.
Check out @caseyburrill_art on instagram and www.fentonandfenton.com.au/pages/casey-burrill
