Seth Searle is a Melbourne-based illustrator who is known for her delicate, spacious renderings of worlds in gouache. We kind of imagined her to exist in a world that is similarly filled with dreamy, lush greenery, muted colour palettes and floral arrangements. A swift glance at her Instagram confirms our suspicions and totally seals the deal with a note that she’s “mostly into dogs and cakes”. Um, could Seth be our dream girl? Very possibly maybe.
Seth’s drawings and paintings stir serene feelings within us. Like taking dip in fresh water or riding your bike through a park in Spring, they’re like small meditations on quiet moments we all enjoy. She paints girls that are delicate and poised with fiddle figs and monstera leaves. They sit in groups in circles, relaxed and comfortable and in conversation. Or they’re just reclining, savouring some solitude with greenery and animals. There’s something a little bit Margaret Kilgallen-esque about her work too, particularly the most recent black and white lino cuts portraying shapely, strong women.
Seth is also pretty well known for her cute as heck pet paintings, nabbing features all over the place for her adorable portraits. Her paintings of everyone’s favourite furry, feathery friends are fine work, with delicate brush strokes and strong colours. Oh, she’s really good at dogs too, cute regal little guys.
Seth’s doing a pet portrait class with Workshop Melbourne on April 30th, so if you’re around head along and learn how to draw your furriest friends in a really special way.
See more of Seth’s work on her website and Instagram.
