Amanda van Gils With an end in mind 2006 Oil on linen 8 x 6 inches

Amanda van Gils: My postgraduate was at the Victorian College of the Arts and my undergraduate was at Chisholm Institute (now Monash University) in Melbourne.

Art Interview: Did you study figurative art in school?

Amanda van Gils: I studied all of the basic technical skills such as drawing and painting from life, still lifes and so on.

Art Interview: Have you always been a representational artist?

Amanda van Gils Postcard to an unknown lover, May 19th 2000 Gouache and pencil on paper

Art Interview: Why did you begin painting people in the sky?

Amanda van Gils: Everything has evolved over time. If I look at the work I have created over the last seven years there has been an apparent evolution of the ideas. What I am doing now is very different from what I was doing seven years ago. There has been a natural progression from one piece of work or from one theme to another. I am currently painting children playing in the sky. That evolved from painting people snorkeling in the sky, which was one of those happy accidents. I just happened to put a photograph of myself snorkeling, while I was on holiday, next to a photograph of one of my drawings and the idea just somehow came to me. It was the first time that I actually worked with figures. I liked that idea and I began playing with the notion of limitless possibilities of being in the sky.

Amanda van Gils: I’ve been painting figures for about three years and I have been working on the children series for about a year and a half.

Art Interview: How many pieces have you done in your sky series?

Amanda van Gils: I have done a lot of pieces that are small: 8 inches high by 6 inches wide. I have also done a lot of larger pieces. So all in terms of swimming and the children I would say I’ve made maybe 70 separate works.

Amanda van Gils Somersault 2005 Oil on linen 8 x 6 inches

Amanda van Gils: Because I can. (Laughs) I spent most of last year painting in 8 x 6 but now I am changing. But the smaller are appealing to me because I enjoy working with really small brushes. I just like the preciousness of those 8 by 6. I think they are really quite precious objects.

Art Interview: Are smaller pieces easier for you to sell?

Amanda van Gils: Yes, I have found them quite easy to sell. I had a show in New York last year with 24 of my 8 by 6 inch pieces, which did quite well. But obviously, with smaller works you cannot charge the same prices as with bigger works. The other disadvantage of painting small is that they can take a surprising amount of time to make. However, transporting smaller works is much easier. You can put them all in one box and carry it on the plane with you, which is nice and practical but that is a benefit rather that a motive for painting small. I just enjoy that size. They do not make stretchers that size so I have them custom made for me. That’s sort of appealing to me because other people are unlikely to be doing the same thing.

Amanda van Gils: I frame the small pieces because it reinforces their preciousness.

Art Interview: How long does it take you to paint a 6 by 8 painting?

Amanda van Gils: I have no idea. I tend to work on a lot of paintings all at the same time. I work in layers so I might paint a landscape underneath and let it dry. Afterwards I’ll go back and paint in rough figures. When they are dry I’ll go back in and work on the details. Then I might go back in and glaze areas and so on. At the moment I have 20 pieces in progress, but normally I always have at least a dozen pieces on the go. From starting a piece to finishing it might take me 2 months but I actually lose track of how much time I put into each one of them.

Art Interview: How long does it take you to prepare for a show?

Amanda van Gils: It takes me about 6 to12 months. I generally have 1 or sometimes 2 solo shows a year of about 20 works in various sizes as well as a few group shows each year.

Art Interview: Do you have a contract with a gallery or do you pay for exhibition space?

Amanda van Gils Midflight 2003 Ink, charcoal, graphite and coloured pencil on paper 100cm x 76cm

Art Interview: Are your contracts regional?

Amanda van Gils: The Rex-Livingston Art Dealer in Sydney is responsible for all of New South Wales, the Salt Contemporary Art sells in Victoria and Schubert Contemporary sells work on the Gold Coast, which is in Queensland. I also sell work directly to my client list and from my website at http://www.amandavangils.com.

Art Interview: How did you approach your initial gallery? Did you send slides of your work to them or did you invite the dealers to your rental shows?

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This oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Amanda van Gils on July 24, 2006. The interview took place over the telephone between Berlin, Germany, and Victoria, Australia and was conducted by Brendan Davis for Art Interview Online Magazine.