Rebecca Kilpatrick

Rebecca Kilpatrick is an emerging Brisbane (Meanjin) based artist, illustrator, and arts worker. Her current work encompasses a broad interdisciplinary practice covering relief printmaking, painting, drawing, and applied arts. Born in Sydney, Kilpatrick trained in the studio practices of printmaking and drawing (BFA) at the National Art School (Darlinghurst, NSW), before undertaking a Diploma of Graphic Design (Illustration) at Enmore Design Centre and a Master of Museum studies at the University of Queensland. 

Investigating the illustrative qualities of nature and gesture, Kilpatrick's work utilises her training in fine art practices and knowledge of colour to create dynamic works referencing quintessential motifs of Australianna. Her research-based practice is informed by the social history of the collective consciousness of Australian nostalgia but seeks to question the consequences that also it represents carried forth into the present day.

Artworks from the artist have shown throughout Australia and internationally in USA and Japan.

#13 | Caringbah, 2021, Relief print on Bristol Card, 27.9x35.6cm, $120.

I like this print quite a lot, with it hitting my intended notes of retro CMYK misregistered advertisement & 90's nostalgia in palette. The fault lies in knowing, from my training, that both lino layers had carving debris that caused the white flare-like areas over the surface ... if only I'd cleaned it properly before I printed. My only negative observation about this print is my inclination to not entirely plan images before I carve. The result was a slightly upturned nose of the figure, which gives a snoutish appearance, but if I don't think too much about this, it can be easily overlooked.

#19 | Cronulla, 2021, Relief print on Bristol Card, 27.9x35.6cm, $120.

For a first attempt at a subject-orientated print, I'm still very proud of this image. It was carved between 2020-2021 and it was the last piece of lino I had left from prior, as I didn't have a setup to do any art for years. I wasn't entirely happy with the accidental distortion of the face during creation, but in reflection, it's creative liberty. The print faults are clear: misaligned, dry background plate (patchy), and missed carving areas of background that are printed on the left side. These however, are just the types of issues you face printing in an apartment in Brisbane - it's a race against dry winter & humid 40 degree summers.