journal / fine art and artist-founder practice
Whole Festival brought my fine art practice and my artist-founder work into the same live setting. I co-created the 2026 Beach Stage with lead creative director Eva Garland, contributing creative direction, design, production and on-site installation. I also painted approximately 40% of the stage using my short-form drawing approach.
I do not leave my art practice behind when I work as a founder, creative director or producer. At Whole Festival, the short-form drawings and painting I make as Sketchy Shona became part of a shared public environment. The brand is not a layer added after the artwork. It is the world, relationships and point of view I have built around the work.
Eva Garland was the lead creative director. I co-created the Beach Stage with her, contributing to creative direction, design and production, then installing the work on site. The record keeps our roles clear while showing how the idea moved into the festival environment.
I painted approximately 40% of the Beach Stage using my short-form drawing approach. Moving the drawings onto the stage changed their scale and setting, but kept the marks connected to the fine art practice they came from.
My Sketchy Shona work is my own artist-led practice. For Whole Festival, my short-form drawing approach entered the stage through painting, alongside shared creative direction and production. In other collaborations, I can bring my art practice into the work when its point of view serves the brief. It remains my own authorship, not a style I add by default.
Building Sketchy Shona means developing an artist-led world around the work, not separating the art from its public life. This project put painting, creative direction, production and cultural experience together in one place, with the roles and collaboration visible in the final work.
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