WHEN the Gazette first spoke with artist Libby Hyett a year ago, she had just opened her very first business - a studio gallery called ‘Shop 10 ¾’ in the Old Post Office Arcade in Windsor mall.
She had experienced a tough five years during which she had suffered depression and anxiety, undergone back surgery for a herniated/prolapsed disc, and received surgery for De Quervain's tenosynovitis - a repetitive stress injury caused by overuse, both from playing the piano and drawing.
Things were finally looking up, until ill health again reared its nasty head, and she was forced to close the gallery for approximately six months while she recovered at her parents’ place in Newcastle.
“The doors were shut with no explanation, so that would’ve been the time to give up - if I did stuff like that,” Ms Hyett told the Gazette.
But she didn’t give up: instead, she spent January repainting and upgrading the fitout for the gallery, and handmaking new stock and signage. She even paid a local homeless man to help her paint, so she could get it done and reopen the store more quickly.
Now, the 34-year-old Bowen Mountain resident is back in full force, and is committed to sharing her love of art with the community she calls ‘home’.
Small steps
After reopening in February, Ms Hyett began by offering her skills free-of-charge to local businesses to help them create more appealing signage.
Windsor businesses The Haven for Hair, The Cake Gallery, and VL Nails and Beauty all took her up on her offer, and now she offers sign-painting services as part of her business portfolio.
“I did it for nothing, because work begets work, and people would see me doing it and it would create word-of-mouth. And if they wanted to have their signs looking better, it would help all of us retailers,” she said.
Ms Hyett specialises in drawing and painting portraits of people and pets from photos. That’s her “special skill” when it comes to art, and that’s the reason she opened the store in the first place.
“I realised there would be a market for that if people knew about me. That’s slowly building as the word is getting out there. Parents have professional photos taken of their kids and I can turn this into a piece of art that looks so much better!” she said.
In only a few short months, Ms Hyett has put herself out there and is beginning to see some results. You can find her on Sundays at the Windsor Markets, painting on-the-spot portraits in charcoal for $15, and she’s also teaching $10 art classes on Fridays at the store - 4pm for primary school-age kids, and 5pm for high school students and adults.
“I love teaching. I really love it. I’m childless - I’m not clucky! - but I love mentoring and encouraging,” she said.
Ms Hyett has also secured a listing with the Hawkesbury Artists and Artisans Trail, and is about to start a wall mural for Guy Stuff, a gift store in Windsor mall.
“They wanted a mural on the outside of their building. It’s going to run from the carpark up to the mall. It’s all getting approved for heritage and what-not, and they’re hoping to have the funding soon for the materials - but I’ll be doing the work for free,” she said.
“A curator from the museum is going to oversee the mural project, and it will be based on the heritage qualities of the area - the Pansy trains, the buildings, the floods.
“It’s up to owners of businesses if they want to approach me to do a mural, and I’ve got my little eagle-eye out for good spots, too. We’ll get this one done first and it will be the litmus paper.
“I hope that the art entertains people. That’s why I’m doing it. I’m trying to bring it [Windsor business] up as much as possible. I do believe the tide has turned but it’s going to take a little while for the momentum to catch on - but it will snowball.”
Soon, she will also be working with the Sydney Polo Club on the artwork for a brochure-style map of the grounds, which will be handed-out to visitors at the World Polo Championship in October.
“Hopefully if we get international TV exposure, I would love for the Hawkesbury to be marketed as a ‘bucket list’ destination, like the Three Sisters. It’s the beautiful picturesque landscapes that I love - I like to get outside and paint them and sell them in my shop,” said Ms Hyett.
She is a big supporter of a Windsor bypass, and has been volunteering in the CAWB tent: “I want there to be a bypass built so Windsor can become that tourist destination without that heavy traffic,” she said.
“It’s the community of the Hawkesbury that I love - the two-degrees of separation. I’m a small-town girl. It’s just a laid-back community. It’s like a story - I love to look at it.”
Shop 10 ¾ is open Thursdays to Sundays from 9am until 5pm. Follow Ms Hyett on Facebook at www.facebook.com/libbyhyettmusic or contact her on 0474 518 197.
