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Inside the Nostalgic Watercoloured World of Artist Sha'an d'Anthes aka @furrylittlepeach

“I think it’s important to show the artist's hand when sharing your work online."

A photo posted by Sha'an d'Anthes (@furrylittlepeach) on Dec 17, 2015 at 3:18pm PST

You might not immediately recognise her name, but Sha’an d'Anthes is internet famous. The 23-year-old Sydney-based artist and illustrator, who operates under the moniker Furry Little Peach, has has been exhibiting and selling work online since her early teens. If you consume your art online, chances are you’ll immediately recognise her nostalgic watercolours.

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d'Anthes tells The Creators Project that she’s wanted to be an artist ever since early childhood. “I'm certain I felt an affinity with mark-making as soon as I could hold a crayon,” she says.

Not only is she drawn to the act of painting itself, but the storytelling quality that comes with it; you can easily trace her evocative illustrations of animals and plants to the books she read when she was little. “Something I remember vividly is wanting to write and illustrate books as a kid,” she tells us. “I'd spend the longest time on the covers, but by the time I was a couple of pages in I'd ditch that story and start the next one. From memory most of the books featured animals as main characters so clearly not much has changed in my art making department, though I'm very happy to have kicked the short attention span since then.”

A photo posted by Sha'an d'Anthes (@furrylittlepeach) on Feb 6, 2016 at 6:17pm PST

That sense of childhood innocence lies at the heart of most things she creates. “At the moment I'm really interested in nostalgia,” she explains. “In evoking it, in referencing my own nostalgia and even in creating new images that still give you the air of what you miss as an adult—childlike wonder, exploration, and adventure.”

The online presence came a few years later, when d'Anthes was in late high school. “I first began posting on Tumblr when I should have been preparing for the HSC,” she says. “I must have been 16 or 17 when I posted my first drawing online, and then discovered that the Internet was a great place to connect with both your audience and other creatives.”

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d'Anthes may have found an audience using the Internet, but in some ways her practice is rooted in the traditions of the past. Her preferred medium is watercolours—“always has been, and probably will be for a long time to come.” She tends to begin drawings with pencil and ink, then uses watercolour for “the bulk of it”, and then finishes the detailing with gouache. “It's really exciting to bring something new to a medium that has been around for centuries,” she says.

A photo posted by Sha'an d'Anthes (@furrylittlepeach) on Feb 15, 2016 at 4:29am PST

When it comes to social media, there are always lines to be drawn. While Instagram and Tumblr can provide a wealth of inspiration, d'Anthes tries to view the online sphere as more of a digital gallery space than a moodboard. “I try not to let social media influence the work itself, but it definitely influences how I showcase my work,” she tells us. “I've learnt a lot about art direction in content creation, as well as the importance of storytelling when you're showcasing visual work through using social media.”

Her 100,000 Instagram followers would probably agree that part of the allure of her Instagram is d'Anthes’ willingness to share personal stories alongside her artwork. “It's like a whole other practice,” she says. “I think it’s important to show the artist's hand when sharing your work online—whether that be showing people where you were when you made something, how you made it, what you made it with, or why you made it.”

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A photo posted by Sha'an d'Anthes (@furrylittlepeach) on Apr 9, 2016 at 11:29pm PDT

Currently, d'Anthes is selling a selection of enamel pins on her online store, inspired by her road trip through the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and looking forward to telling more personal stories through her work. “I'm wrapping up a handful of commercial projects at the moment, and afterwards I hope to focus more on personal projects,” she says. “Now more than ever I'm focused on bringing the world in my head into the real world, one painting at a time.”

Sha’an d'Anthes is speaking at Semi-Permanent Festival, which runs from May 26-28 at Carriageworks, Sydney. You can find out more about the festival and buy tickets here.

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