Self-portrait of the artist, Aprill Allen.

I like bold colours and I love the texture of visible brush strokes.

As a teenager, I enjoyed art at school and weekend workshops at local art societies, but took a path away from art only to try over and over to get back to it. As an adult, I’ve started and stopped fine arts degrees multiple times.

In 2019, I became more dedicated as a painter, embracing the mentorship of established artist, Jacqui Stockdale, and working weekly from her studio in Fitzroy, Melbourne. 2020’s isolation provided the right circumstances to get intentional about my art. I used the time to focus on portraiture and figure work, studying online workshops with Michael Carson, Sarah Sedwick, and participating in online life drawing through the National Portrait Gallery and The Art Room.

I began exploring emotions through portraits and lone figures before turning inward, examining my own thoughts and feelings through self-portraits and abstracts.

I’m now working from a space in Northcote Art Studios and some artworks are listed for sale on Bluethumb.