Welcome to NATURESFACE FABRICS.
I am Gerhard Hillmann and this is my fabric collection.
For over ten years I have been designing and producing designer fabrics on 100% organic cotton. The images printed on fabric are created from deep within the tropical rainforest of North Queensland. This is where I grew up and now live with my family. I have always been inspired by nature to create images of beauty and life. Plants, animals and our interaction with them are my main focus. I have been creating and selling my artwork for more than 25 years! Nothing makes me happier than seeing my artworks reproduced on fabric and used in peoples creative projects.
A collaboration between artists allows connections to be made. Creativity is contagious and brings so much joy and happiness to everyone involved. This website is for all the patchwork, quilters and crafters around the world. Also anyone who really loves nature and fine art photography.
Enjoy and please send in photos of your finished pieces to info@naturesface.com.au
If you are stuck for ideas,see how some people have used the fabrics in their projects.
Artist Statement
My interpretation of the organic world is embedded deep within each artwork I create. Because I believe we are all part of the landscape & not separate, many of my images explore this human nature connection. I feel compelled to respond to the environment in a creative way & aim to promote a deeper appreciation and understanding of nature. Beyond linguistics, an image has the ability to transcend language barriers and travel the world. On fabric it can make someones day special.
Art of Seeing
Through patient observation amazing and unique details in nature slowly become visible, this art of seeing inspires me to develop works which describe this experience of discovery. I attempt to capture the essence of a particular subject from the inside out. Depth, colour and a sense of movement are all used to bring the viewer into the image. By immersing yourself in one of these artworks; subtle, intricate & vibrant details may suddenly appear, making the invisible visible, as the more you look, the more you see.
Creative Process
Photography plays a major role in my creative process and often a single photo is all it takes, however sometimes I like to use traditional mediums like painting, drawing and even sculptural work. These are then used in the process of creating an image. By incorporating some of these traditional fine art skills with a photographic medium amazing details are brought to life. Regardless of which mediums I choose to work with, one thing is certain and that is my preference of using many layers and colour. This style of layering, blending and merging has taken me years to develop & continues to evolve in a progressive way. I call it organic photo-montage and aim to create still life images which are anything but still. They are intended to be full of movement, life and depth, which portray a hyper realistic view of the world by jumping out at the viewer in an almost 3d style.
Backstory
Gerhard Hillmann is an Australian artist who has established a career in the world of fine art photography. He was born in Cairns, Far North Qld, Australia in 1973 and grew up in the small town of Kuranda. His childhood was spent living in the rainforest & and diving on the Great Barrier Reef. This helped teach him to appreciate the natural world and planted a desire within him to be an artist. This healthy curiosity and respect of nature then evolved into an awareness of the unlimited creativity we all have within us. An obsession with intricate detail and all creatures great and small is evident in many of his artworks. While, a desire to share this never-ending experience of discovery with others is his motivation to be a nature based artist. His artworks are a bridge into another world of natural wonder and life.
After many years studying and travelling overseas he finally returned back to the tropics of far North Queensland. He lives in Kuranda in the rainforest with his partner Natasha who is an ICU Nurse and their two daughters. During the wet season you can hear the infamous barron falls from their verandah. A chorus of frogs, rainforest birds and insects all harmonise to create the idyllic setting to create the images he is well known for.
With the experience of the past his seamless blending of content allows memory & imagination to merge in unique ways. Many ideas are explored and some artworks are abstract enough to allow the viewer to interweave their own stories within them, open to interpretation. In reality digital processing has replaced the traditional darkroom, but he sees this as a positive thing and remembers replacing chemicals from the darkrooms with radiation from the computer screen. The computer allows him to combine everything he has collected and created in one seamless composition.
Education
With a background in illustration, fine art photography as an art form was a logical progression. I spent over a decade immersed in traditional photography, art & design studies around the world. This included a couple of years at the Academy of Art in San Francisco before leaving California to study in Germany. When I returned to Australia I finished my studies in Adelaide & Melbourne. A fine art degree in photography, many exhibitions & numerous awards has all encouraged me to be artist. I have been creating mixed media photographic artworks now for over 25 years and can’t imagine doing anything else. Photography and technology continue to evolve in an exciting way and reproducing detailed images on fabric is a great example of merging mediums and techniques. If you have read this far, thankyou and please enjoy this website.