Bridie Watt

FEATURED ARTIST

Video, photography and article produced by David Griffen.

Bridie Watt is a Newcastle-based artist working primarily in painting and drawing. Her work draws on the colour and forms of the natural world, with birds and other fauna recurring throughout her imagery, and she also works across performance and collaborative installation projects.

Watt has exhibited in solo and group shows since completing an Honours degree in Painting at the University of Newcastle in 1996. She is a resident artist at The Creator Incubator in Hamilton North and has created a number of public murals across Newcastle.

Bridie Watt is a Newcastle-based artist working primarily in painting and drawing. Her work draws on the colour and forms of the natural world, with birds and other fauna recurring throughout her imagery, and she also works across performance and collaborative installation projects.

Watt has exhibited in solo and group shows since completing an Honours degree in Painting at the University of Newcastle in 1996. She is a resident artist at The Creator Incubator in Hamilton North and has created a number of public murals across Newcastle.

“My dad had this incredible record collection with artists like Aretha Franklin and Peggy Lee. So I grew up listening to those artists, and they were inspiring.”

Bridie is an artist living and working in Newcastle across a range of mediums. While painting is her primary practice, she also steps into other forms, including performance. After having her first child, she returned to making work in a serious way, not because everything suddenly got easier, but because it felt necessary.

Coming back to the studio

“When I had my first child, I went back to my art practice because I felt like I had a bit of time on my hands. It sounds ridiculous, but I was at home and a bit confused about who I was.”

Between feeding and settling a baby, Bridie describes feeling unmoored, and painting became a way back to herself.

“Apart from feeding the baby and putting the baby to sleep, I was a bit lost. So I went back to my painting and my practice, because I had that time.”

That return sparked momentum. She began producing more work, and people started responding.

“I started to produce a lot more work, and I began to sell more work, which isn’t necessarily the point of being an artist. But people were appreciating my work and responding to it, and I was able to get it out to people as well.”

For Bridie, that exchange matters. Making work is not something you do entirely alone.

“You can’t really work in isolation. You need to show the work consistently and get those responses from people.”

Permission to keep going

Rather than letting practice become something postponed until life felt quieter, Bridie made a decision to take herself seriously.

“That was probably when I felt like I should pursue it and keep going, and not just pack it back in the cupboard for when I have time.”

Over time, the need to make work has become less about outcome and more about identity.

“It’s more of a mental need for me to be continually expressing myself. Whether that brings me any monetary gain, I don’t really care. I need that side of me to always be there.”

“If you’re an artist, you’re always an artist. You’re always looking at things, listening, feeling. It’s hard to switch it off.”

Role models, close to home and further afield

Bridie reflects on growing up in a world that felt heavily male-oriented, especially in how art was taught.

“At school, I don’t remember learning about women in art. I don’t recall studying any women artists in particular.”

One of her earliest experiences of an artist’s life came through a friend’s mum, a painter with a studio at home.

“It was probably the first time I’d seen someone painting in their house. I’d go over to hang out and end up spending most of the day sitting with Louise, asking questions about her painting.”

She also remembers the significance of names and examples that cut through, from Dorothy McKellar to Frida Kahlo.

“It’s funny, because I went to an all-girls school called McKellar Girls High, named after Dorothy McKellar, who was a poet. Early in my career, Frida Kahlo was a big one for me.”

Music has been another lasting influence, particularly women musicians.

“Women in music, like Aretha Franklin. My dad had this incredible record collection with artists like Aretha Franklin and Peggy Lee. So I grew up listening to those artists, and they were inspiring.”

Beauty, humour, and colour

Bridie is clear about what drives her work and what does not.

“Sometimes I wonder, am I not being deep enough in my questioning? Am I not being critical enough? But it’s not me.”

She describes herself as “quite tame” politically, and is more interested in joy than agitation.

“I really love beauty, joy and humour, and bringing those into my work. And obviously colour, too. That’s me expressing me.”

What’s next

Bridie has two upcoming exhibitions in the pipeline.

“I’ve got an exhibition at The Owens Collective in Islington, Newcastle, at the end of March and early April.”

“I have another exhibition in September here at the Creator Incubator with Lyndal Campbell, and we’re doing something a little bit different for that one.”

A note to her younger self

Looking back, Bridie describes a childhood she remembers warmly, and a younger self who moved through the world with more ease.

“I had a really beautiful childhood. Looking back now, I’d tell myself: keep going. Meet as many people as you can, have as many experiences as you can.”

She wishes she could borrow some of that earlier freedom now.

“I’d love to be a little more like my younger self, a little less controlled, because I was very free and easy, and did a lot of awesome things without thinking too much.”

And if there’s one question she keeps returning to, it’s this:

“What would your younger self say to your older self?”

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