Northern Beaches local Ash Holmes has been painting for as long as her hands could hold a brush. A fourth-generation artist, she developed her painting practice from a vocational pursuit into a fully-fledged professional career and has become one of Sydney’s most hotly-tipped artists. Ash’s work can be seen throughout Harbord Hotel, where she was inspired by the shapes of Freshwater’s headland to create the calming and earthy mural that greets guests on arrival. Here, we chat to her about career, inspiration, and her unexpected guilty pleasures.
When did you first discover you wanted to be an artist?
Can you tell us about your thought process for the Harbord Hotel artwork, where did you draw inspiration from?
I drew inspiration from the natural environment, studied photos of the original landscape – the shapes of the headlands and ocean’s cove, the culture surrounding the HH, vintage furniture and architecture and most importantly the natural colour palette that nature provides. The palette I selected for the Hilton is grounding, earthy and calming.
Can you share with us some of your daily rituals?
What has been your biggest challenge in your career to date?
Where would we find you on a perfect sunny Saturday afternoon?
If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
I’d go back to Japan and do an arts residency.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
