Leanne Xiu Williams in her studio. Photo – Miki Mikka

Artwork by Leanne Xiu Williams. Photo – Alfonso Chavez-Lujan

Leanne Xiu Williams

You’d never guess that Sydney-based artist Leanne Xiu Williams is self-taught. After studying art history at university, she was inspired to pick up painting during the pandemic, and we’re particularly obsessed with detailed her still-life paintings, often featuring emotive moody shadows and intriguing reflective surfaces.

‘Still life for me is a mode of storytelling, of capturing a transient moment and perspective that others may relate to,’ Leanne says. ‘The objects that we surround ourselves with contain layered histories, yet they also shape us and leave impressions on us.’

Price point: $600 – $5500

Shop Leanne’s work through Saint Cloche

Tracey Schramm

Tracey Schramm’s paintings are all about telling a ‘story’, personifying everyday objects and often mixing and matching them with other items in an elegant fashion, with contrasting colours and layered shadows.

‘I like to explore dramatic lighting in my still lifes, seeing how it can alter the way my set-ups look — a skill learnt from my other profession as a professional photographer,’ Tracey says.

Price point: From $420, framed pieces for around $900.

Shop Tracey’s work through Project Gallery 90, or on her website

Amber Nuttall

Melbourne-based artist and textile designer started learning oil painting from her ‘Nana’ in early 2019. Whiles she initially focused on flowers and foliage, her paintings have evolved into broader still life subjects matter, such as dreamy breakfast scenes with a view that looks like something you’d see on a European holiday, or a haul of fresh produce from visit to the Sunday markets!

‘Sometimes the paintings evolve from memories of a place or something I see, like a view through a window into a florist’s workshop,’ Amber says. Other times they’re drawn straight from her imagination and onto the canvas.

Price point: $550 – $660

Shop Amber’s work through Brunswick Street Gallery, or directly through Instagram

Midnight Incantation by Lucy Roleff.

Lucy Roleff

We couldn’t write this story without mentioning one of TDF’s long-time favourites, Lucy Roleff. Her richly detailed work draws inspiration from historic oil paintings, using painterly brushstrokes to create hyper-realistic and mesmerising paintings of collected objects.

Lucy says she was naturally drawn to still-life, as she enjoys the solitary and domestic elements the process. ‘Unlike portraiture or landscape work where you need to engage with another person or environment, there’s no grappling with changing weather or moods,’ Lucy says. ‘I think it’s because I like to feel a sense of control over the subject matter as well as the painting process.’

Price point: $1800 – $5500

Shop Lucy’s work through MARS Gallery and Olsen Gallery

Stacey McCall

When Stacey McCall studied fine art in the ’80s, she majored in gold and silversmithing with a sub-major in painting. But 15 years ago, she went back to painting and has never looked back.

Working from her ‘very tiny studio’ at the end of her Melbourne home’s garden, she paints her domestic environment and the objects that sit quietly around her home. ‘I have raised five daughters in this house, our things are familiar, they are what I know,’ Stacey says. And she paints them well, with tenderness and affection — gorgeous!

Price point: $800 – $1500

Shop Stacey’s work through Boom Gallery and Michael Reid Murrundi

Sophie Sachs

With a background in architecture and design, Brisbane-based artist Sophie Sachs says she loves curating compositions that shape her still-life work. ‘I have always been drawn to still-life painting and have been inspired by painters like Cressida Campbell, John Honeywill and Sam Fullbrook,’ she adds.

Something as simple as an IKEA cups becomes a captivating object in her paintings, shining a spotlight on the ‘simple beauty that can be found all around’. It’s this thoughtful approach combined with light colours that imbues her work with a peaceful and still quality.

Price point: Original art ranges from $650 – $3500, while prints range from $90 – $340

Shop Sophie’s work through her website

Rose Goodchild

Believe it or not, emerging artist Rose Goodchild’s hyper-real artworks ­are made up of layers upon layers of dots of her tiny paintbrush! Rose focuses on painting compositions of food and culinary settings, recreating their intricate details and textures so beautifully, they look enough to eat – and you might recognise her work from the cover of the new Tart Magazine!

‘I also have a deep appreciation for the culinary world, its sensory experiences and the personal connections I have that are associated with food and dining,’ Rose says.

Price point: Original art starts from around $800, and prints start at $90

Shop Rose’s work through Oigall Projects or on her website

Sam Michelle

Melbourne artist Sam Michelle started painting when she was 14. Now 40, she’s been a full-time painter for the past decade and has made a name for herself with her colourful renditions of flowers and the botanical world!

‘I am a keen gardener and find it so rewarding to source new and obscure varieties of flowers to grow and paint,’ Sam says. She finds still-life gives her ‘endless opportunities’ to capture her ever-expanding cottage garden, weaving in stories and themes from her personal life.

Price point: $3000 – $15,000

Shop Sam’s work through Martin Browne Contemporary or Gallerysmith

Left: Exposure Therapy by Kiandra Buchanan. Right: Purple Harvest by Kiandra Buchanan.

Kiandra Buchanan

Margaret River-based artist Kiandra Buchanan describes her work as ‘quiet’ and ‘contemplative — and we couldn’t agree more. She has a knack for capturing the small, fleeting moments that ‘often go unnoticed’, like the way the morning light hits the washing basket or the left-out wine glasses from the night before.

‘I’m drawn to still life painting for the way you can invite pause and build a story within the scene,’ she says. ‘The way some objects hold a particular meaning for one person, and another meaning for the next, so that each viewer can read their own story within the work.’

Price point: $360 – $940

Shop Kiandra’s work through Weswal Gallery, through her Instagram or on her website 

Phoebe Stone

Sydney-based artist Phoebe Stone has always drawn as a hobby, but it was only three years ago that she started creating art professionally. ‘When I started drawing again it was during the pandemic. I was home, and my home is full of cherished items I’ve collected over the years,’ Phoebe says.

Her first oil pastel drawings were really just to ‘meditate’ but after drawing her sentimental objects, the serial collector realised the emotive power of her still-life creations. ‘For me, all these drawings are a little love story to these items I collect, that tell part of my story and make up my home.’

Price point: $550 – $2500

Shop Phoebe’s work through HAKE House of Art, Sketch Co Gallery, and Michael Reid Southern Highlands later this year, or through her Instagram

Emily Heath

Sydney artist Emily Heath says her still-life practice as a visual diary. Most of her paintings start with a colour that she’s drawn to, layering contrasting bold colours over pastel tones to create her memory-filled artworks that tell stories about everything from the ‘joys (and challenges) of motherhood’ to the the ‘messy spaces’ where she lives and works.

But the best part about her work is how Emily manages to turn these everyday scenes into visually pretty works that we want to hang on our walls!

Price point: $700 – $3500

Shop Emily’s work through Fenton & Fenton, The Corner Store Gallery, Michael Reid Northern Beaches and her website

Libby Haines

If you’re into local artists, you’ll already know about Libby Haines internet-famous still life paintings, which notoriously sell out in seconds when she releases them twice a week via Instagram! There’s so much to love about her work, from her imperfect and textural paint application; the rich colours that catch your eye; and her subject matter — taking inspiration from the ‘terrible photos’ she snaps of food and her day-to-day that often spark the idea for her next painting.

‘I think the reason I love still life is that objects I see everyday and that have a certain level of mundanity to them, can become vessels for expressing more complex feelings and emotions,’ Libby notes.

Price point: Prints start at $55, original artworks from $595

Shop Libby’s work through her Instagram, website or at Saint Cloche later in the year

For Dinner by Brooke Holiday.

Brooke Holiday

Melbourne artist Brooke Holiday creates dreamy and nostalgic still-life paintings. Working from her home in Coburg, her painting practice is all about immortalising the beauty of seasonal produce, and the intimacy of memories made by sharing food around the table with the ones you love!

Each of her pieces evolves through hours of underpainting and overpainting, depicting ‘fruits, vegetables, drawn out dinners and sweet sentiments’, Brooke says. ‘Food is always infused with meaning… and these are the undercurrents that I’m interested in exploring through my work.’

Price point: commissions from $600, prints from $95

Shop Brooke’s work through her website or contact her for a commission