Margaret Olley Quotes on Art

Margaret Olley was a famous Australian painter and philanthropist. She is best known for her intimate interiors and still life paintings. Famous Margaret Olley artworks include “Chinese Screen with Still Life”, “Marigolds and Limes”, “Still Life with Leaves”, “Ranunculus and Pears”, “Late Afternoon”, “Portrait in the Mirror”, “Clivias”, “Wildflowers in the Kitchen”, “Yellow Room, Evening” and “Yellow Tablecloth with Cornflowers”.

Mini biography: Born Margaret Hannah Olley on the 24th of June, 1923 in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Her mother was Grace Temperley and her father was Joseph Olley. The artist died on the 26th of July, 2011 in Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia at the age of 88.

List of Famous Margaret Olley Art Quotes

I’ve always been intrigued by interiors. You gain a lot of information from a room. I’ve also always liked artists who painted interiors: Bonnard, Vuillard, Matisse. An interior will result in a portrait of the person who lives there, but it is also to do with approaching the room as if it was a person whose portrait you’re painting. Margaret Olley

It’s for the love of doing and if you knew you could do it, I suppose you wouldn’t do it. It is something to do with the challenge. Margaret Olley

East Sydney Tech was where my life began. I was like a flower that has suddenly been fertilized or pollinated. This was what I had been waiting for my whole life. It was where friendships started that lasted lifetimes. I just loved the environment at tech. Margaret Olley

I like working in the kitchen, much to the amusement of my friends. They come and say they could tidy it up. And I say “Excuse me! It’s a very unique kitchen. It’s a studio first and a kitchen second”. If you think about it, I suppose my painting is an extension of my life and my life and surroundings are part of my paintings, so I feel I’m in harmony with where I live and who I am. So, I’m in one with the painting. Margaret Olley

Oh, where would we be without friends? Friends to me are everything. Margaret Olley

I would gather the flowers and they were in the room that I was in so it was part of the room. People aren’t always at hand. Margaret Olley

I am like an old tree dying and setting forth flowers as quickly as it can before it dies. Margaret Olley

All of the old brown scrubby paint is disappearing, and for the first time I’m trying to tackle the problem of color which is something of an ordeal but I am enjoying it, which is the main point and its also becoming more personal and I am afraid to say more feminine, which I suppose is only natural. Margaret Olley

Art Quotes About Margaret Olley

Margaret Olley’s obsession with objects and creating a beautiful space to live was all part of her practice and obviously you only needed to walk into her home to see how you could be inspired to make paintings about it – She took up the space. Her studio took up every single bit of where she lived. Ben Quilty

Margaret Olley Self Portrait Painting

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Related or similar popular artists and celebrities include: Pierre Bonnard, Edouard Vuillard, William Dobell, Elisabeth Cummings, and other Famous Australian Artists.