Destiny is not a word synonymous with a pandemic, but it’s the only one that adequately describes Abby Fortin’s journey.
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COVID-19 lockdowns slammed the retail doors shut, preventing art purchases for Ms Fortin’s family home under construction in Kialla.
“I thought I’d try to create stuff at home instead,” Ms Fortin said.
“Plus, it was an outlet ... you couldn’t do a great deal during that time, and this was something to do besides homeschooling, being a mother and not interacting socially.”
With two kids in high school, one in primary school, and a one-year-old clinging to her side, it was no easy feat.
But she knew, as soon as paintbrush touched hand, that it was important.
“I’ve spent the majority of my younger adult life being a mum and prioritising my kids, my family,” Ms Fortin said.
“I’ve also gone to nursing school and university, done a post-graduate in neonates, and now work at GV Health in the special care nursery.
“I put the focus on my family and my career. Art and creativity fell to the back burner.”
That artistry had simmered untouched for long enough.
The apron was tossed, the gloves taken off — and the canvases are now painted and primed for viewing.
Riverlinks Eastbank hosts Art Speaks, an exhibition facilitated by Topsoil Arts, a sub-branch of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Creative City Strategy, until Sunday, July 14.
The exhibition lowered the velvet ropes separating the established artists from the emerging, featuring 18 local artists, including Ms Fortin and four of her distinctly colourful canvases.
“There aren’t many opportunities I’ve found around the Goulburn Valley to be able to display your art, so I’m thrilled to be a part of this exhibition,” Ms Fortin said.
“So much work and time goes into organising these events — Mimi Leung and Anni Jane (from Topsoil Arts) have done an amazing job curating both Mini Mart and Art Speaks.
“It’s such an honour to showcase my art alongside fellow local artists, and I encourage people to go see it.”
Since 2022, Ms Fortin’s art has been exhibited in museums and galleries stretching across the Goulburn Valley.
It’s a testament to how far she’s come since making her artistic debut only two years ago.
When the artist initially picked up a brush, her style of choice was fluid art — pouring paint onto lazy Susans, allowing gravity and time to decide the paint’s path and final destination.
Nowadays, her works have blended into a more abstract tone, kindred with a childlike sense of play.
Natives and florals are recurring themes, as well as portraits, landscapes and, more recently, bees, fish and lobsters.
“To be honest, I’m still exploring,” she said.
“I primarily use acrylic paint and posca pens, but I also use texture paste, acrylic ink and, occasionally, resin.”
Starting with globs of paint, Ms Fortin mixes and splatters brilliant hues together before unleashing them on her canvases.
There’s no plan or vision, just colour and fate.
“You work along, see where you can add or take things away, apply different colours and compositions,” she said.
“That’s the drive and the passion for me — you never really know what you’re going to come out with until the end.
“But my biggest drive to create comes from the sense of calm I have when working in my studio.”
Ms Fortin said painting eased her mind amid the disarray unfolding throughout the pandemic.
Yet, it remains an integral part of her life post-lockdown.
“Art has become therapy for me,” she said.
“It stops the mind chatter, clears all the nonsense that goes on in the world — that’s why I’ve continued to do it and continued to build on it.”
While many artists use music to ignite expression, Ms Fortin prefers the tranquillity of a crisp silence.
But she’s not like many artists.
In fact, she doesn’t regard herself as one.
“It’s a hard concept to wrap my head around — I do art, I guess I am an artist, but I don’t see myself as that, so to speak,” she said.
“I’ve got my permanent part-time job and my art on the side.
“It’s something that I’m driven for it to be a career eventually, but it’s a hard niche to get into.”
That said, Ms Fortin has already erupted in the art world.
She’s amassed accolades and built a fan following eager to see how she wields her signature bright pigments onto the canvas once more.
Her career in the arts has already begun.
Destiny has called her.
The Art Speaks exhibition will be open until Sunday, July 14.
For more information about the Art Speaks exhibition, visit https://minimartshep.com/artspeaks
To see more of Abby Fortin’s art, visit https://www.abbys-artistry.com/ or find her on Instagram at @abbysartisrty27
Journalist