When Stephanie Jakovac walks through the bush, she carries a sketchbook, black ink pen, graphite stick and camera. Sometimes she also carries a small set of watercolours or gouache paints.
When she finds a flower she’s interested in, she gets close to them, she often picks and smells, sometimes she will taste or even lay down on the ground level with her subject.
After the sketch is completed, she takes photographs for future reference.
It’s the start of a process that is completed in her studio and has led to Jakovac’s works now being on display in The Cube Wodonga lightboxes.
“Australian bush is rich with flora all year round, which is very different from my past European experience, when winter puts all the flowers to rest,” she said.
“I wish to bring native flora to the attention of people so they might observe the minute details and become more aware of what grows in the bush, appreciate it and learn to respect it and be proud of it.”
When Jakovac started her career as a professional artist in 1990, she was told that she wouldn’t be successful because she lived on the Border.
“But loving the area and surrounding mountains and landscape, I decided that I would not want to live anywhere else, even if it costs me my success as a painter,” she said.
“I persevered with exhibitions, kept in touch with other artists and art world and combined my earning of income with my teaching career and interpreting/translating of two other languages.
“I only just retired from interpreting and translating last year. Now I can fully engage with the creative side of life and hopefully I still have time to create some great works.”
She described the support of local art organisations on the Border as “fabulous”.
“In return I personally like to attend as many events as possible organised by these organisations and I do wish to extend my sincere appreciation for having all those organisations at our doorstep,” she said.
The international award winning artist works from her ‘Lubek’ Art Studio in East Albury and has held more than 20 solo exhibitions, five solo exhibitions in Slovenia and one in Sweden.
Many of her works can be found in public and private collections in Australia and around the world in England, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, the US and Bulgaria.