An Interview with Alicia Cornwell

We're delighted to introduce Alicia Cornwell, the artist whose stunning still-life artwork features across our beautiful new 2027 Calendar Collection.

Known for her expressive botanical paintings and timeless use of colour, Alicia's work celebrates the beauty of nature in a way that feels both joyful and enduring. Her artwork has become a treasured part of our newest collection, bringing warmth and elegance to everything from stationery to linen (stay tuned!).

We recently sat down with Alicia to chat about her creative journey, the inspiration behind her work, and the story behind her beautiful collaboration with Bespoke Letterpress. You might even spot a few little sneak peeks of what’s still to come from the collection along the way...


Pictured: Alicia Cornwell in her home studio in Olinda, Victoria.

Hi Alicia! It’s been so wonderful collaborating with you on our latest collections. To begin, can you tell us a little about yourself and where you’re based?

Its been an absolute dream collaborating on this beautiful collection, I’m so excited about it! I’m a full time professional Fine Artist working from my studio at our 100 year old home on top of a mountain ridge in Olinda, Victoria about an hour out of Melbourne. I create predominantly in oils and have been very interested in working within the Still Life genre since I began holding a paint brush a very very long time ago. I studied Fine Art at University out of high school and added a teaching Diploma to that not long afterwards. I’m a wife and a mum to three amazing girls who grew up running free in our mountain home and are now pursuing their own creative journeys. I’m also a foster mum to English Bull Terriers.

We’d love to learn more about your journey as an artist. How did it all begin, and where do you usually find your inspiration?

I’ve always been firmly entrenched in artistic creation from a very early age, I still have my drawing of a dinosaur from Kindergarten! I might not have always been at an easel painting however when I look back I can see all my creative roads leading that way.

I enjoyed my time studying Fine Art at University immensely and the large drawing component of that Degree was a very strong foundation in my artistic journey. Funnily enough I majored in printmaking but as I became older I have felt a pull back towards oil painting which I now enjoy the most.

During the time of early motherhood I established and ran a successful Antique and Vintage business supplying to interior design, Television and Movie networks. This operated for over 20 years and slowly over time turned into my original love of being solely at my easel and painting some of these objects back into my work.

The area I live in has been a constant source of inspiration for my work. From our own century-old garden to the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, including the Chelsea award-winning Australian Garden, the surrounding national parks, and the many historic gardens of the region—several designed by Edna Walling—I am surrounded by extraordinary beauty. The Dandenong Ranges is not only a popular tourist destination but also one of Melbourne's major flower-growing regions, providing an endless source of inspiration.

For this collection, I made countless visits to the Botanic Garden just across from our home. The reference photographs I captured there became an integral part of the creative process, particularly for the native floral subjects that feature throughout these paintings.

Pictured (left to right): 2027 Wall Calendar – Still Life & 2027 Family Wall Calendar 

Your paintings beautifully bring together Australian native flora, vintage objects and domestic interiors. What first drew you to combining these elements?

To me this combination comes very naturally. I am a huge collector of vintage and unusual fabrics right back from the early 1900’s and they are so luscious and sit so well with some of my vintage vases and objects I can not help but combine them for my artwork. My home is filled with antiques and display cabinets and boxes of very old fabrics so there is no shortage of inspiration here! The native flora brings almost an exclamation mark to the combination, they are very eye catching and sculptural and beautifully unique to our country. Their colourings are sublime, mixing my oils to get just the right colour is such a challenging joy to me.

Living and working in the Dandenong Ranges, nature seems to play such an important role in your work. How does your surrounding landscape influence what you create each day?

Waking up each day to Kookaburra calls and Magpies warbling, watching Echidnas waddle through our old garden past the stables, flights of Rosellas launching from the Fern trees you can not help but be enveloped by nature everyday. The mountain is home to the largest flowering tree in the world - the mountain ash. How could I not be inspired? I only have to step outside my studio door to discover a new creative idea. I am so appreciative of the environment we live in, not enough hours in the day to paint it all!

With a background as an antique and vintage dealer, you've spent years surrounded by beautiful objects with rich histories. How has that experience shaped your artistic practice today?

I think I am always drawn to the usual and quirky be it objects, people or places. Beauty is subjective however objects from the past have their own sublime structure, colour combinations and sculptural qualities that I just have to try and replicate with my brushes. The history of these objects absolutely fascinates me and I am beginning to tell a few more stories of these in my artworks. I am absolutely a borderline hoarder with all these little knick knacks i have and each deserves to have their story told!

Pictured: A little glimpse of what’s still to come as part of our Alicia Cornwell collaboration...

Your paintings invite people to slow down and appreciate the beauty in everyday moments. Is that sense of stillness something you hope people experience when they see your work?

Yes the sense of taking a moment is very important because I think we move through life too quickly. Take time to do that jigsaw, write a special note in that journal take a moment to appreciate the beauty all around us. In my artworks it is important for me to draw the viewers eye around the the composition, I do this by the angle of the leaves, the shape of the total as whole, the way each flower faces. Its forces the viewer to take a moment and be still with it and appreciate the beauty within its depths.

What does this collaboration with Bespoke Letterpress mean to you, and how has it felt seeing your artwork reimagined across stationery and everyday pieces?

I feel so incredibly privileged to be given this opportunity so it does mean a great deal to me personally and also as part of my journey as an artist. Seeing my artwork on these stunning products literally made my heart skip a beat when I first saw them. The quality of the products and the use of my images within, I couldn’t have asked for a better representation of my artwork truly.

Seeing your artwork translated onto paper and lifestyle goods is quite different from viewing it on canvas. Is there a particular product in the collection that surprised or delighted you most?

Exactly! Very different but I am so delighted by it. I think the beautiful shopping bag really made me stop in my tracks the most with the eucalyptus flowers falling down the sides of the handles into the main design. I was waiting for a coffee at our local coffee shop when I first saw it and I gasped so loudly people looked up!! Oh and the puzzle - oh my goodness LOVE!!

Pictured: 2027 Wall Calendar – Still Life


What do you hope someone feels when they unwrap a gift, open a journal or use a piece from this collection featuring your artwork?

I do hope they feel a great sense of beauty and gentle calmness in the splendour of our native and exotic flora each time they use this collection and a rightful sense of place in their homes and lives. I created this collection of artworks with a quiet palette of colours, a flowing composition to draw the eye and a gentle caress of movement and line. I can see in this stunning collection that these ideas are carried through within the products and I am very deeply happy and contented about this as I feel that is exactly where I wanted to go as an artist and creator.

What are you currently exploring in the studio, and what can we look forward to seeing from you next?

In the studio currently I am making further exploration into the history of my vintage collections and telling a story within the image of their origins. A vintage 1950’s Italian velvet throw is my latest obsession against some native flora and will expand that into some other fabrics and compositions as I go. I am looking at some conceptual ideas within this and so far they are well received and have been accepted into a few major art prizes this year along with several exhibitions. I can’t see myself moving too far away from Still Life anytime soon!

Discover our full Alicia Cornwell Collection here