Once Around the Block | Brooke Whelan

The desire to create is one that Brooke has had her whole life. Following the completion of an Associate Diploma in Art and Design, she went on to work in various creative roles including an extensive 15 year career in floral design. After side stepping into education roles, Brooke has now finally come full circle, to return to painting and art making.

Growing up in a small country town, both nature and her surroundings provide inspiration. Old abandoned sheds and shacks in the Australian landscape have always held a mystery and fascination. Someone else’s memories within the building, and surrounding paddocks, now a visual memory to others on their daily commute or road trip across the country side. Expressive brush strokes and saturated rich acrylic colours are used to depict the light filtering through the elements and subject, capturing the sun and representing the colour of the day and season. Her artworks are nostalgic, haunting and romantic simultaneously, with colour used to convey a mood or feeling. Construction lines, scratches and intuitive brush strokes explore the relationship of tight and loose elements in the same composition. These are used to enhance the aesthetic and add charm and patina to the image, creating a vintage film like appearance and encouraging the viewer to meander through the artwork.

Looking past the obvious, close observation and engagement of the subject is her process.

Read more about Brooke here.

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.”

Brooke Whelan, 2025.

Read more here.

Shipping to anywhere in Australia is just $80 for this work. International shipping is available on request.