Step inside Mitchell Cheesman’s Buderim ‘studio’ and you instantly understand where he draws his inspiration from.
The talented artist has set up an intriguing space in the void underneath his parents’ quintessential Queenslander, featuring uneven bare earth, a huge mound of paint-encrusted rags, cardboard palettes dotted with generous blobs of colourful paints and a bookcase crammed with art books.
The area is filled with the exotic aroma of incense and jazz is playing on the portable music speaker. Look up to one corner and you’ll see possums sleeping on the beams – they’ll start scurrying around at 6pm. Two kangaroos also regularly make an appearance, grazing just outside the studio.
It’s Mitchell’s ‘happy place’ and it’s reflected in his paintings, which are casually leaning against any angled surface. One large painting is positioned on an easel and is nearing completion. It’s breathtaking, the luminous, soft marshmallow textures so luscious that you are tempted to reach out and touch it.
“I love this space – it’s rough and uneven, much like my paintings,” Mitchell says.
“It has a big effect on my work. The ground slopes a lot so most of my paintings depict things falling or on an angle.”
Being surrounded by nature has also had a big influence on Mitchell’s work.
“Whenever I’m walking around, I notice little things like shapes and reflections on glass. I’ll keep it in my mind, come back and do a little sketch and then put it in a painting and see if it works.”
Prompted to provide an example, Mitchell says he noticed two geese on their road.
“They would wander down the side of the road, eating things. Because they were always together, I came home and painted a double-headed goose. A couple of days later, one of them was run over, which gave that painting a powerful effect. They can live on through that painting.”
Although aged only 25, Mitchell is busy preparing for his sixth solo exhibition to be held at The G Contemporary in Hastings Street, Noosa, from January 17 to February 2.
The gallery is owned by Karen and Steve Beardsley and Mitchell credits the couple for his success.
“I met Karen and Steve at my first show at another gallery in Noosa in 2021. Three days later, I went to their gallery, and they said they wanted to represent me. I’ve been with them ever since.
“I love exhibiting at their gallery. They have big walls and I remember saying to Karen and Steve that I just wanted to fill the walls because they are so tall. It’s a very comfortable feeling working with them – they’re just so supportive and lovely and I can’t thank them enough.”
Another person who has had a positive influence on Mitchell’s life is his grandfather, Benjamin Cheesman, who was also a painter.
“He is really proud of me. When he visits from Brisbane, I show him my work and he loves it, even though it’s so different from his work.”
Mitchell’s grandmother, who passed away 10 years ago, was a painter and a writer, talents she has obviously passed on to her grandson.
“I love writing too. You have ideas for a painting, then you put words down and suddenly that becomes a poem. Because my work is so personal, I feel the words in the poem also influence my painting. There is a story to be told in every painting I have.”
Music also plays a big part in the creation of Mitchell’s colourful masterpieces.
“I always listen to music when I paint – only jazz music though, no lyrics,” he says. “With jazz music, I feel I am moving the palette knife to the sounds. I’ve always felt like a musician who couldn’t play a musical instrument, so I play with a paintbrush.”
Although Mitchell has no formal art training, he has studied some of the great European and Australian artists, including Paul Gauguin, Willem de Kooning, Joan Mitchell and Brett Whiteley.
“My grandad gave me a book on Vincent van Gogh just after I left school. I was always getting told off for drawing on all the corners of the pages in my books at school.
“I started taking art seriously when my parents went on a trip to Europe. I was working as an apprentice for my dad’s cabinet-making business at the time. It was just the two of us working together, so it allowed me a month of free time to start turning my drawings into paintings. I just kept painting from then on. It just felt right, like I had a lot of freedom.”
Having the freedom to explore different techniques has resulted in some stunning and evocative artwork. Mitchell paints quickly, scooping blobs of oil paint from one of the many palettes dotted around the studio or adding dried-up chunks of paint from the floor.
“Once I get going, I pace around the studio, flicking paint everywhere, as you can see. I’m always working on one on the easel, and then if I see something that needs to be changed on some others, I’ll add to it,” he says.
Mitchell doesn’t have a set painting schedule. He points out an unfinished artwork, which was started at night.
“It’s got the black background and the yellow flowers that really do stand out – like painting by moonlight. But half of the painting is done in the day as well, so there’s that little window at the back with a bit of light coming in.”
Mitchell will be showing 18 paintings at the exhibition early next year and still has around nine paintings to complete.
Despite having a three-day-a-week job restoring a boat, he is not the slightest bit worried that he won’t complete all 18 artworks in time.
“I never feel pressured or nervous. I may have a few butterflies on opening night, but I feel like there are so many things in the world to paint.”
As for the future, Mitchell would love to be represented by some galleries overseas. He has already sold some paintings to art lovers in New York, Hong Kong and England through The G Contemporary. He is also working on publishing a poetry book.
The future looks very bright for Mitchell Cheesman.
SAVE THE DATE
What: Solo exhibition, Seasons stain the Vein by Mitchell Cheesman.
Where: The G Contemporary, 6/32 Hastings Street, Laguna on Hastings, Noosa Heads.
When: January 17 to February 2, 2025.