Carla McRae
Carla McRae is a Melbourne-based illustrator who creates whimsical worlds through her artworks.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
A studio installation featuring Carla McRae’s artwork. Photo - Tatanja Ross, On Jackson Street.
Colourful worlds transform the side of buildings, shoes, tee shirts and pieces of paper in Carla McRae’s installations, prints and murals. The Sunshine Coast-born artist brings that costal, sunny disposition from Queensland to Melbourne, where she now lives with her partner, fellow artist, David Booth.
Growing up in a sleepy regional suburb meant Carla had lots of time to experiment drawing, reading, painting, making toys, and playing on MS Paint — taking these experiments to the University of the Sunshine Coast, studying graphic design. Following graduation, the artist decided to move to Melbourne, where she found a complete contrast in a moving art scene that scooped her up. "It felt totally different to the regional slow coastal lifestyle I knew so well,” Carla reflects. “There was so much visible on the surface, that's when you know there are good things happening underneath too.”
The community welcomed the artist in, and within a couple of years, after juggling freelance design and part-time jobs (even designing socks for a while!), Carla was able to make the leap to full-time freelance illustrator. The artist now works on a lot of commercial projects but remembers to balance these with personal projects. "They keep me excited and interested in drawing," she shares. [They] push me to discover new ways to make work, which then influences the projects I work on with others.”
“Melbourne is a really special place, full of lots of generous and positive people. I feel really lucky to be part of and to be contributing to this community,” says Carla McRae. Photo - Tatanja Ross, On Jackson Street.
“I try to take part in meaningful projects that allow me to use my skills in this way. To feel like I am contributing to something bigger than just myself sometimes makes what I do feel less self-indulgent.”
Memory Banquet exhibition. Photo: Tatanja Ross, On Jackson Street.
Fundraiser poster artwork for Women’s And Girls’ Emergency Centre.
Mural Painting at Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College in Geelong. The artist’s inspiration was to inspire students to see their worth; strong, determined and looking towards the future. Photo - courtesy of Carla McRae.
In the studio - private oil painting commission by Carla McRae. Photo - Yaseera Moosa.
“It's important for me to schedule time out of my year to make personal work; it's something I need to protect. And I've learnt that if I don't make time for the personal projects, they just don't happen,” shares Carla McRae. Photo - Yaseera Moosa.
The day-to-day is what inspires Carla the most, looking back to history for art and design, as well as friends, nature, and travel. But, the artist has also found by diversifying her practice into murals, she's found a "kind of newness" to inject in her works. "When you paint a mural, you have to simplify in every way,” she considers. Painting walls has allowed her to incorporate abstraction and ultra-refining while simplifying her drawings.
“Painting walls has pushed me into abstraction because it physically feels so good to make those shapes with your body.”
Carla’s career has taken so many different avenues, and picking a favourite project is hard. One that stands out was her Memory banquet exhibition, where she revisited all the food scenes from books and cartoons she loved as a kid — Carla invited new mediums like oil pastel drawings and wooden sculptures. “It was great because I got to explore and introduce a more 3D / sculptural approach to my practice,” she adds. For the rest of the year, Carla is launching a children’s book that she’s illustrated and an exhibition in June. The rest is still unravelling!
Carla McRae painting Adelaide City Library with David Booth. Photo - Jack Fenby.
Koncho Verona skate deck design. Photo - Penny Lane.
“I try to be really observant and really look at things when I’m out and about. Walking down the street I let my eyes bounce around beautiful, unexpected colour combinations, look for shapes and lines in nature, play visual games.”
Readings Monthly artwork. Photo - Tatanja Ross, On Jackson Street.
Koncho Verona skate deck design. Photo - Penny Lane.