About
Born and raised in Western Australia Bec Bartell grew up with a love of animals and nature. Art has always been a part of her life in some way shape or form and after many years of practicing quilting and textile art she decided to teach herself to paint by using books, YouTube and a lot of trial and error. Bec’s work reflects her love of the natural world and combines it with her fascination for the paintings of the Baroque and Dutch Golden Age by combining natural light effects with moody dark backdrops or blazing golden metallic effects.
Since 2016 her reputation as an acrylic painter has grown, with her work now in galleries on both coasts of Australia and in many private collections around the world. Bec was the inaugural The Next Big Thing national prize from the Toowoomba Gallery and has been a finalist in the Bluethumb Art Prize both in 2021 and 2022, along with being a finalist in many local Art Awards in Western Australia over the past several years. Her work was recently featured on the cover of Kate Morton’s novel Homecoming, in 6 different countries around the world.
Becs work depicts the duality of the human experience in the modern world. Through the use of acrylic paint on wood or canvas, I explore the stark contrast between the elements of dark and light and capture the beauty in both.
The variation of the soft delicate bird feathers against hard ceramic, the melody of colour in the native flora constrained by the bold artificial blues of the vessels that contain them, highlight the harmony of the natural beauty suppressed in the modern world. These elegantly simple things illuminated as they emerge from the darkness is a quintessential portrayal of the struggle to find balance and meaning in a complex world.
Ultimately, her work offers insight into the relationships and powerful metaphor of the light that shines through the darkness.
