“I want people to notice the beauty in the ordinary.” Brooke Whelan in GIGANTIC

Brooke Whelan is one of the amazing artists in GIGANTIC at Tyger.

We are so excited to welcome back the fabulous Brooke Whelan for GIGANTIC - our upcoming show of artists working on a grand scale.

Join us to celebrate the opening of this spectacular show on Saturday 26 April, 1-3pm. Register now to secure your spot at this FREE event. 

You’ll be first to see all the works in GIGANTIC, and you’ll get to meet the artists involved.

Brooke’s beautiful paintings are nostalgic and haunting, capturing Australian suburban and landscape scenes in expressive brush strokes and saturated rich acrylic colours. She’s been a finalist in many national art prizes and has recently started a residency in Wodonga’s Hyphen Creative Studio as the recipient of the 2025 Murray Arts Emerging Artist Residency Grant.

We are BIG fans of her work, and are so delighted to welcome her back for GIGANTIC.

Her work in the show is Once Around the Block - a beautiful acrylic on canvas work reflecting on memory, nostalgia, and the gentle rhythm of familiar places.

We can’t wait to share it with you.

Ahead of the show opening, Brooke told us about drawing inspiration from suburbia, using textured brushstrokes to evoke emotion, and noticing the beauty in the ordinary.

Tell us the story of this work. What inspired it? What does it mean to you?

“This painting was inspired by quiet moments in regional suburbia—simple daily rituals like walking the dog past well-tended gardens and weathered homes.” 

“It’s a reflection on memory, nostalgia, and the gentle rhythm of familiar places. The dramatic sky hints at the inner world of dreaming, storytelling, and childhood imagination.”

Tell us about how you created your work.

“I started with a reference photo taken on a walk through a small town, drawn to the play of light and shadow on the house and the striking blooms. I sketched the composition, then layered acrylic paints to build the textures of foliage, architecture, and the expressive sky. The brushstrokes are deliberately textured to evoke emotion and movement.”

What particular challenges came from working on a piece of this size?

“Capturing enough detail in the house, garden, and figures without overwhelming the canvas was a key challenge. Balancing the scale of the elements while maintaining depth and perspective took time and a lot of reworking, especially in the shadowing and the roofline.”

What do you hope people feel when they see your work?

“I hope people feel a sense of warmth and familiarity—like a memory they can’t quite place but feels comforting.” 

“I want the viewer to pause and imagine their own stories within the scene, to notice the beauty in the ordinary.”

Register now for the opening of GIGANTIC on Saturday 26 April, 1-3pm.