THE GALLERY - ALICE WINTER

Alice Winter’s paintings might stop you in your tracks, faces fractured into bold planes of colour, bodies of strength and vulnerability, something deeply personal is being expressed.

Alice’s work is built on emotion rather than planning. “I make art every week,” she says, “but what I make in particular is driven by my experiences and feelings. If I’ve had a terrible day or week, that’s when I feel I make my best work, my emotion-filled self-portraits, abstracts, and poems.”

This honesty runs through all her pieces, from the raw intensity of Self Portrait 8 – Heartbreak and Self Portrait 10 – Wearied by Terror to the quiet, meditative pain of I Don’t Want to Die. Each one is a marker in time, a snapshot of emotion rendered in colour and shapes. “Each self-portrait I make best represents me at that time,” Alice explains. “Self Portrait 7 – All for You is probably the best painting I’ve ever made. It was about celebrating me, something I rarely do. It’s about love of self.”

Geelong has become both an inspiration and her home base. After discovering The House Geelong earlier this year, Alice says it’s completely changed her practice. “Going along every Thursday evening has made 2025 my most productive and artistic year yet,” she says. “It’s such a lovely space full of like-minded people. Getting feedback, sharing ideas, it’s always a highlight of my week.”

The city’s creative network keeps her connected. She often attends gallery openings, poetry nights, and exhibitions, not just for inspiration but for community. “Art can be a very isolating practice, so those events mean a lot,” she says. Poetry, too, has become an important outlet, with Alice reading at local open-mic nights. Her poem You Really Thought, written and performed earlier this year, has become one of her proudest achievements.

Alice’s art isn’t about perfection or polish, it’s about being seen. “When I make my most expressive works, I just want to be seen,” she says. “That’s what it’s all about for me.”

Alice works best without pressure. “I struggle with Demand Avoidance,” she explains. “So I tend to make art on my own terms. I’ve exhibited a few times in the past, but lately even the idea of it sends anxiety and resistance coursing through my body. It just spoils the art for me.”

Still, she continues to create, week after week, in her own rhythm. “I always have lots of ideas for paintings in my head,” she says. “When I don’t have something pressing to express, I’ll make one of those. I love experimenting, using new materials and creating art in different styles.”

“Experiences are usually what inspires me,” Alice says. “For me, art is about self-expression. When things happen in my life, I often need to express them. There’s just so much emotion going on inside me, and it’s such a cathartic feeling to channel that into a piece of artwork — and then share it. I want to be seen.”

And through her art, she is.

While she isn’t currently planning exhibitions, Alice continues to experiment, explore, and create, driven by emotion and instinct. Some days that means dinosaurs, other days, another self-portrait. Either way, her work speaks to the heart of Geelong’s creative spirit, whilst also being personal, vulnerable, and defiantly her own.

Head over to Alice's insta page to see more of the artist's work.

Have you subscribed? Go on. It helps us and it means we can send our new articles straight to your email. Subscription is free and gets you full access to everything on Geelong Cereal.