Until 31st of October, the Cocoon Gallery for emerging artists presents Bethany Collins in her first solo exhibition Stay Golden.

Bethany grew up on a farm around a resourceful and creative family, which taught her not to be afraid to improvise and use imagination to entertain and express herself. This resourcefulness encouraged Bethany to paint without formal training and experiment with different styles and mediums.

Her paintings which often feature feminine and natural subjects are heavily textured with acrylics mixed with modeling paste and offer a restrained but modern color palette of mostly pinks, golds, and browns.

The artist’s recent works are influenced by life’s simple pleasures such as swimming in the ocean, eating delicious fresh fruit, and dreaming of idyllic holiday places.

“I started using just acrylics and slowly began to experiment with a 3D texture as I wanted something that was not only eye-catching but also intriguing to the hand.” She says.

Creating has always been her passion but in 2020, has taken painting more seriously. At the beginning of the mandatory COVID lockdown in WA, Bethany stocked up on art supplies and started to find inspiration in the new slow living phase of life.

The emerging artist has been part of The Hive Margaret River Art Collective for over a year, collaborating in their two group exhibitions. Her art has also been showcased at Fibonacci Art Gallery in Fremantle.

All artworks on display in The Cocoon Gallery are for sale through the artist.