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Courtenay Kay McCue is a Gold Coast based visual artist with a body of work heavily inspired by the street art of Melbourne lanes, music, the iconic Renaissance era art as well as contemporary pop culture. She pushes boundaries presenting new ideas through engaging colour schemes and mesmeric stencils creating something new and perhaps, yet unseen. Her art balances between chaos and method.
Courtenay Kay McCue with her work “Bless You”
Courtenay’s creative process is built on a lot of layering of text and colours. “I usually have a rough idea where the focal point will be placed on the piece before I start, so I try and avoid any important text in that particular area so it doesn’t get covered up. Once I am happy with the background I will go ahead, sketch up the focal point and add boldness to the piece,” Courtenay explained. “Because my pieces are so layered, I always add in my own little sneaky secrets, so only I can see or read in the piece.”
Not again… | Acrylic and spray on board | 190 x 95cm
“Most of the time I will do a piece without any meaning or realisation why I am painting it. Couple of months will pass and I look back at that time in my life and it all makes sense why I painted the artwork at that particular time.”
Courtenay’s art has strong references to her childhood in the early 2000’s. “I am trying to keep that inner fun, carefree time alive from when we were kids with no big responsibilities and just having fun in life. I use a lot of vibrant colours and bold text to express this.”
Jazz | Acrylic and spray on board | 92 x 182cm
Visual art is embedded in our everyday environment and Courtenay’s art plays with this. “We see art in our everyday surroundings, whether it is in logos for businesses, billboards, murals or artworks in houses or galleries,” she said. “Art plays a huge role in interior design. A single art piece in a room can create a whole new theme and feel to the house. Selection of an artwork is a very critical part of any interior design.”
LIFE | Limited Edition Print | AS SEEN ON THE BLOCK 2020
But it isn’t simply the visual effect that art creates. “Original artworks play an important role in our everyday lives as it shows human expression, passion and opens us up to new concepts and interpretations of our world we may not have imagined before,” Courtenay continued.
Courtenay’s art is very reflective and responsive to everything around us and as such, the global pandemic has had its effect as well. It has pushed her to experiment with ideas that have been on the back of her mind for a while. “Colliding fashion with my art practise has been something I have wanted to do for a long time but never had the time to focus on it and do it properly. I studied fashion design back in 2012 and am using the skills of sewing and design to create collections which are hand sewn, painted, drawn and unique fabric prints to create 1 off fashion garments. I am so excited to see where this path takes me.”
WARNING | Acrylic and spray paint on canvas | 175 x 210cm
The importance of art for Courtenay is not simply in creating it, but as importantly, in consuming it. “I actually have been collecting art myself over the last 2 years from art friends and artist around the world who I love. I get so, so excited when I buy a piece of art that I connect with instantly. I only buy pieces that I feel connected to straight away and get that “I need that!” feeling. So, I guess … I understand what it is like to purchase [original] art, which makes me so much more humbled and appreciative when people approach me to buy artworks and have a connection to what I have created.”
