BEHIND THE BRUSH: KASEY RAINBOW FOR PICNIC SEASON

Meet Kasey Rainbow. First things first: Yup - Rainbow is her real surname. And as her name suggests, she is a lady of many colours.

Kasey Rainbow is a star of the Australian art and design world who is the epitome of her own Live Bright ethos. Based in Brisbane’s Bayside, Kasey brings her passion for colour to creating a unique style that oozes personality and radiates happiness.

Kasey has always been a creative at heart, but after purchasing an iPad back in 2017, she discovered a new love of digital art and design. After months of playing and hours of YouTube tutorials, Kasey dove headfirst into the wonderful world of fabric and textile design. Completely self-taught, Kasey is quickly becoming a well known and exciting new name in the wonderful world of design.

And when she's not drawing or designing? You can find Kasey making the most of each day with family and friends, eating one too many tacos and raising her margarita to a colourful life!

We caught Kasey for a chat about all things bright and colourful.

You are one of Australia's brightest up and coming digital artists, and we are so inspired to hear that you're entirely self taught. What were you up to before and what led you to make the career change to artist? How did you go about it?

Oh wow! What a compliment – thank you so much! I have always been a creative at heart, but to be honest, never thought I could make a career out of it. I worked in the administration/clerical field for about 10 years, but most of the time had some sort of creative side hustle on the go. I made the decision to trust my creative instinct and become my own boss in early 2020 and haven’t looked back! It took me awhile, but I am so glad I finally listened to what my heart truly wanted.

Rainbow by name, Rainbow by nature. Your motto is, "Live bright!" and we share your sentiments completely! Tell us why you think everyone needs a little bit of colour in their lives?

I gave up my ‘sensible and secure’ job two weeks before COVID hit in 2020. I thought I had made the worst decision in the world, until I realised that now more than ever, the world needs colour and joy. I am also incredibly passionate about mental health awareness and bringing colour into my life has helped my own mental illness immensely, so I thought it may help others too.

How does your art make it from paper and paint to its digital form? Tell us about the creative process for these two pieces - do you hand paint and cut and paste each element during the draft process to see how they might work together as a whole?

Each of these designs was done using a different technique – for The Seasons in the Sun, I used my ‘digital collage’ technique, which is where I do everything digitally. From colouring pieces of ‘paper’ to ‘cutting’ out the shapes – it is all done on my iPad! For Fruit Salad, I used my traditional collage technique, which is where I hand paint all my paper and cut it up with scissors to create the shapes. I will typically cut out all my shapes first then move them around until I am happy with the layout. I love each technique, even though they are so different. Digital collage is a lot less messy… but sometimes the mess is half the fun!

What is it about small biz life that motivates you?

The fact that I am around whenever my daughter needs me. She started school this year, and the fact that I have the ability to walk her to school, attend her school events and just be more ‘present’ makes me so grateful. I also love that as my own boss, I have so much creative freedom! And I can take mental health days whenever needed!

You've worked with many gorgeous small brands along with some big names like Lego and Peter Alexander. What's been your biggest Kasey Rainbow moment so far?

Working with Peter Alexander has definitely been a career highlight for me. I remember when I first started designing, I made a ‘goals’ board to help keep me motivated. Peter Alexander was the first big brand I put on there and to think that I have now actually ticked that off is amazing! Mind blowing in fact. Apart from that, my favourite thing is watching small business grow and create the most amazing products featuring my art – I will NEVER get tired of seeing my work pop up on products around Australia.

One piece of advice you'd give to other digital artists wanting to get started in the industry?

Oooo this is tough. I think it would just be ‘back yourself’. If I hadn’t of taken that leap and backed myself, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Where did you find the inspiration for Seasons In the Sun and Fruit Salad?

I love taking the ‘everyday’ or ‘ordinary’ things and turning them into colourful, radiant pieces of art. Florals and fruit can seem simple, but when you really look at them they are bursting with colours and textures!

If you could sum up these pieces in one phrase, what would it be?

Fun in the sun!

Are you a Podcast person? What's your fave?

Not really to be honest. When I’m working, I’m either playing my favourite playlist or watching FRIENDS for the 100,000th time!

Guilty pleasure TV show?

Ha ha, I think my previous response covers that!

Shop the Kasey Rainbow collection here.