About

Hello!
(It's me, Austen)

I am a growing artist and illustrator currently living in Cape Town, South Africa and painting from an overflowing spare bedroom studio.

With a background in Interior Design, Marketing and Social Media, but a lifelong dream to be an artist and maker fulltime, I made the leap in 2022 to transition into part-time work at my day job to spend more time with my art practice, refining my process and learning new skills and techniques.

I am Making art one day at a time and prioritising Progress over Perfection in my creative journey - follow along on Instagram or visit my studio shop to see what I have been making lately! 

For the Artists
In 2021 I began an online, virtual art club that meets once a week for 1 hour (sometimes more) of *sketchbook time*. We use this time to work on projects, follow along with my guided art sessions or just connect with other artists. It's a great commitment to your art practise and we have lots of fun. Join the club here

I love all things studio - supplies, storage, display, tools... all the things! And I love to make things. So in 2022 I took those two loves to make my collection of 'Things for Artists'. This collection of art and studio tools is locally made (yay!) and you'll love to add a piece or two to your studio. Check out the collection here

And finally, meet Sketchbook Collective. This is a South African powered community built creative library is a passion project started by myself and Geni back in 2018. We invite anyone in South Africa to take part and submit their finished books to the collection to build South Africa's first creative library. If you are local and want to get involved - follow this link