A look into a painter’s new beginning after a long illness

This interview sits down with Alstonville painter Alyssa Joy Black at a turning point in her creative life. After a prolonged period of illness that kept her mostly quiet and close to home, she found herself spending her days in the garden with her cats, noticing details she had never really taken the time to see before. What began as a way to cope slowly became the spark that brought her back to painting. The conversation traces how this quiet time outdoors reshaped the direction of her work and helped her return to a regular creative rhythm.

Alyssa talks about the shift from earlier paintings that drew heavily on the strain of mental illness to a way of working that helps her move through it instead. She explains how relying on that complex territory for subject matter eventually became draining, and how the natural world around her offered a gentler path back. She also shares the role her mother played in encouraging her to pick up the pieces of inspiration she had gathered in the garden and turn them into something new.

Throughout the interview, she speaks with a steady sense of clarity about what her recent paintings mean to her, how she knows when a piece has found its place, and what she hopes others will take from them. She wants viewers to pause, even briefly, and look more closely at the small, everyday scenes around them. As she looks ahead, the direction feels grounded rather than pressured, with more images from her garden waiting for her when she returns to the studio.

Alyssa Joy Black is an artist based in Alstonville, New South Wales, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Curtin University, with a major in both Fine Art and Visual Culture. Throughout her studies and early solo and group exhibitions, Alyssa’s work explored the lived experience of severe mental illness, from which she has suffered since childhood. Her paintings from this period gave visual form to the complex emotional and psychological dimensions of that experience through visual metaphors. Following a recent severe episode in her illness, Alyssa’s practice has shifted to embrace a more restorative approach.

Turning to the natural beauty of her garden, she began creating her Awakening series—paintings that celebrate colour, light, and the simple yet profound delight found in nature. These works embody a dialogue between inner struggle and external beauty, offering viewers a glimpse of joy and brightness even amidst immense darkness. Through her art, Alyssa seeks to share this sense of solace and visual wonder, inviting audiences to experience the healing and joy that can be found in nature and creativity, during or perhaps especially when one is experiencing inner turmoil.

1.     How has life in Alstonville, and the time you spend in your garden, shaped the way your recent paintings have unfolded?      

I experienced a particularly severe episode of mental illness- something I have lived with since childhood- and for a few years was unable to do much more than sit in the garden with my cats. I gradually began to look around me with honest appreciation for the wildlife and plants surrounding me, and took great comfort in this beauty. I knew that when I got back to the easel, I wanted to recreate this experience.

2.    Your earlier work came from a challenging place. What was it like to move from that chapter of painting into what became the Awakening series?  

My earlier works were about representing my experience of mental illness through visual metaphor. Ultimately, that led to creative exhaustion- relying on my illness for content just wasn’t sustainable, especially when my health deteriorated. I realised the way forward for me was to paint through my illness, rather than about my illness.

3.     After your recent episode, what helped you realise that being in nature could guide you back into creating again?  

It was actually my mum, who is in all ways my most excellent support, who encouraged me to create art based on all the visual images of nature I’d collected while recuperating in my garden. Once I started, I was almost immediately back to a full-time creative life. I absolutely love creating again.

4.    The paintings in the Awakening series carry both brightness and tension. How do you sense when a piece has reached the place you’re hoping for?  

I know that my art will likely not be read as related to mental illness unless there’s an accompanying artist statement, and that’s fine by me. I’m always happy to share the origin of my works, though, and hope that the stories behind them can offer a healing experience for the viewer, as creating them has for me.

5.   People often say your newer works leave them feeling calmer. What do you hope someone takes with them after standing in front of one of your paintings?  

I hope that my work inspires viewers to look at even the simplest, most common experiences of nature around them with honesty, and that this brings some joy. If a viewer also reads my artist statement and understands the origin of these works, I genuinely want them to take away a sense of hope and healing in whatever way helps them.

6.    As you continue exploring this connection with the natural world, where do you imagine your work heading next?  

I have so much more natural visual imagery- so many more birds and plants and flowers- stored away, and I see more every day- so for now I am going to keep taking inspiration from my own natural paradise I am so lucky to live in.

Speaking with Alyssa Joy Black gives a clear sense of how her paintings have grown from a difficult chapter into something steady and life-giving. Her work now centres on the hours she spent in her garden while recovering, watching small details she once overlooked.

Through her story, we learn how paying attention to simple scenes outdoors helped her return to creating at her own pace and without the pressure of turning hardship into subject matter. Her journey reveals how gentle surroundings can subtly guide someone back to themselves, and how her paintings convey this sense of calm attention. They invite us to look a little longer at the everyday things around us and to recognise how grounding they can be.

To learn more about Alyssa, visit the links below.