Daria Healy-Koljanin

I’m Daria Healy-Koljanin and I am 19 years old.

I have always been obsessed with doing art since I brought home my first finger painting in kindergarten, which is pretty revolutionary mind you.

My first piece of art (a finger painting) was exhibited, when I was 8 months old, in an international Ronald Mc Donald House Art Show in New York.

I won my first award when I was 8 years old along with $5.40 of prize money. It was the Mildura Show, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

A lot of my artistic evolution probably happened at the Pizza Café, scribbling on the table tops with my trusty cup of crayons. Or perhaps at all those work things mum would drag me along to when I was younger and I’d nag her for paper then sit quietly doodling away in a corner.

I’ve been very lucky to be so exposed to the art scene in Mildura and I’ve met many amazing, inspirational and supportive people. It has been a great community to be raised in artistically.

I take photographs and do a bit of filming but basically drawing is my thing. My work is basically girls, girls and more girls and sometimes animals incorporated with the girls.

My work began very simplified but seems to be evolving into intricate detailed pieces. I work with fine liners, grey lead, watercolour and coloured pencil. The women I draw have attitude, elegance and superiority beyond anyone else’s. As of late I have also been doing some paste-ups, a form of street art, which basically consists of doing the drawing beforehand then going out and sticking it up with homemade glue.

My number one fan is my Nan, without her my ego wouldn’t be oozing. Second would be my forever amazing mother.

My work is inspired by so many different factors from ugly Melbourne cup fascinators, fashion, music or a messed up dream I had the night before.

I am off to Adelaide next year to begin a Bachelor of Visual Arts at UniSA. I’ve done some workshops at the Art Vault where Julie has always been supportive of my work and letting me do paste-ups on her back wall. Steve Hederics, a local artist, has shown me bits and pieces and has been my artistic father throughout my childhood. I completed year 12 in 2009 where I was looked after, encouraged, supported and pushed artistically by the lovely Anne McMaster and Chris Fraser. Apart from that I don’t have a whole lot of impressive stuff up my sleeve. Yet!