Albany artist Eve Young talks about how growing up in a creative family inspired artistic journey

Growing up in a creative family, Albany artist Eve Young set off on an artistic journey at a young age. Whether it was weaving with her mother or listening to stories and drawing pictures with her father, it was almost inevitable that Young would pursue a passion for painting later in life. Moving to Albany when she was nine years old, the now 35-year-old is known around the region for her portraits and depictions of nature. “I’ve been doing art since I was little, always creating lots of things,” she said. “I wasn’t interested in painting until I started studying at university — drawing has always been my favourite.” Young studied art at South Regional TAFE in Albany and went on to complete a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Edith Cowan University in Perth, graduating in 2008. “I’m inspired by nature, local flora and fauna... my surroundings inspire me,” Young said. Her work often starts out as something unrecognisable to most but her simple sketches soon turn into a life-like vision. When she is not letting her creative juices flow in her studio, she works in customer service, a role she described as “quite different but enjoyable”. Young’s largest and proudest art achievement was completing a humpback whale mural inside the Chester Pass Mall at the start of 2019. “Chester Pass Mall wanted a local artist for the mural and involved the community in the project,” she told the Advertiser in November 2018. “I had a chat with the mall administration to find out what kind of mural they were after. “And since that space is used as a meeting space, I thought of the humpback whales and how Albany is also a meeting place for the migrating humpback whales. “That’s how we decided on this particular mural of a humpback whale mother and her calf.” Other highlights of her art journey include winning the Packers Prize in the 2013 Great Southern Art Awards and illustrating her first children’s book with a Perth author in 2017. More recently, Young was the Three Anchors Gallery feature artist for December, where she had multiple prints on display. “This exhibition motivated me to organise some prints of my artwork that hopefully will be stocked in York Street sometime soon in a new art space,” she said. Looking to the future, Young said she was excited to be involved in the Great Southern Art Award. With more than $10,000 in prizes to be won, the event will showcase work from 80 artists from April 2 to May 15 at the newly refurbished Albany Town Hall.