Living in a world of colour

Bertram artist Jacq Chorlton lives a creative life, spending her days immersed in colour, paint and paper.

Mrs Chorlton said when she was not looking after her two sons, she could be found in her backyard experimenting with new ideas and drawing.

‘‘I have always drawn and painted and I enjoy baking and cooking—anything that is hands-on,’’ she said.

‘‘Anything creative, I love it.’’

Mrs Chorlton recently entered the Castaways Art Exhibition with her creation, A Snail with Tales.

She said she knew she had a creative mind from a young age and would spend hours drawing pictures.

‘‘I remember drawing an eskimo in primary school and it was probably the best one in the class, and I think from then I have always been creative,’’ she said.

When Mrs Chorlton finished high school she went to art college, with later studies at Surrey Art College in the UK.

‘‘After art college I went travelling and then I fell into office work,’’ she said.

Originally from England Mrs Chorlton, her husband and two sons moved to Bertram four years ago for a change of scenery.

‘‘I travelled to Australia in 1996 and I loved the weather in Perth, so we decided to move over,’’ she said.

‘‘Coming out here and putting the children into school gave me some hours to get back into my art.’’

Mrs Chorlton said she discovered the Rockingham Castaways Art Exhibition when she arrived and decided to give it a go.

‘‘I have entered ever since and each year is a new experience,’’ she said.

Mrs Chorlton said her art works are inspired by her children and by children’s storybooks.

‘‘I quite like whimsical art,’’ she said. ‘‘I like colourful art and I like quite childish art, I suppose.

‘‘I’m not a contemporary artist at all. I like what-you-see-is-what-you-get sort of art and I am inspired by all sorts of things.’’

Mrs Chorlton has an online business, Funky Dory, where she sells unusual clocks.

‘‘I use wood and I use a scroll saw and I hand cut them and then I paint them with bright colours and pop the clock bits in,’’ she said.

‘‘At the moment I am also working on a range of prints and cards.’’

Mrs Chorlton said in the future she would like to become an art teacher at a primary school.

‘‘For children art is how they express themselves—if they can’t write or read yet, and their imaginations are incredible,’’ she said.

Mrs Chorlton recently joined the Kwinana Voluntary Quarterly Arts Group for community art and said she looked forward to participating in community projects.

‘‘I love colour, I love happy art and I like to create things that inspire other people,’’ she said.