Know ThySelf. Know Your Art.

Know Thyself. Know Your Art.

I’m delighted to be speaking at the Sydney Home Show this October …  and what I’m most excited about isn’t simply talking about art.

It’s talking about you.

Because after years of working creatively .. through photography, branding, storytelling and now painting, I’ve become increasingly fascinated by one thing:

Why are we drawn to the art we’re drawn to?

Why can one painting stop you in your tracks, while another … even if you’re told it’s important, valuable or fashionable .. does absolutely nothing for you?

I believe the answer has far more to do with who we are than most people realise.

Your home has energy. So does your art.

We spend so much time thinking about the practical elements of our homes … furniture, paint colours, kitchens, lighting, cushions, rugs…  but art, my friend is often treated as the final decorative layer.

I see it differently.

Art can completely change the feeling and energy of a room.

It can calm you.

Lift you.

Remind you of the ocean, a place, a person or a chapter of your life.

It can create conversation.

And sometimes you don’t even know why you love something. You simply feel something when you stand in front of it.

That’s the wonderful part.

Know thyself. Know your art.

One of the things I love most as a creative is helping people become more confident around art.

The art world can make people feel they need to know the right artists, terminology, galleries or rules before they’re somehow “qualified” to have an opinion.

I disagree.

You already have an art instinct.

The interesting part is learning how to recognise it.

At the Sydney Home Show, I’ll be exploring how to discover your Art Collector Style and what your preferences can reveal about the colours, energy, stories and artwork you naturally want around you.

You might be drawn to bold colour and movement.

You might need space, light and calm.

You might collect because of story, nostalgia or meaning.

Or perhaps you’ve never thought of yourself as an “art collector” at all.

That’s exactly why I want to have this conversation.

Because collecting art shouldn’t begin with asking, “What am I supposed to like?”

It can begin with a much more interesting question:

“What makes me feel something?”

From Accidental Artist to the Sydney Home Show

My own relationship with art certainly didn’t follow a conventional path.

I came to painting after a career immersed in creativity, photography, branding and visual storytelling. I was unexpectedly discovered by a New York gallery, later saw my artwork featured in Times Square, and somehow found myself becoming what I jokingly call Australia’s Accidental Artist.

Along the way, art has given me an extraordinary new life.

But increasingly, I don’t just want to create paintings.

I want to help people understand their own relationship with art …without the intimidation, jargon or snobbery.

That’s also part of the thinking behind my new book, How To Be An Art Snob… Even If You’re Not One!

Art can be intelligent without being intimidating.

Beautiful without needing an explanation.

And meaningful without someone else telling you what you should think.

Come and join me in Sydney

I’ll be speaking at the Sydney Home Show on Friday 9 October at 1.30pm, sharing my session around finding your Art Collector Style, art, energy and creating a home that feels like you.

Then on Sunday at 2.30pm, I’ll be joining an interiors panel to explore art, design and the spaces we live in.

If you’re decorating, renovating, collecting art — or simply curious about why certain spaces make you feel wonderful — come along.

You may walk away looking at the walls of your home rather differently.

Because perhaps finding the right art for your home doesn’t start with the art at all.

It starts with knowing yourself.

Zahrina Robertson
Artist • Author • Creative Conservationist
Art that brings light, energy and meaning into the spaces we call home.