Frankston artist, Hayley Ashe, has only been painting for five years, yet she already has the mastery one would expect from a far more experienced painter. Approaching her work with genuine joy, Hayley’s enthusiasm is palpable and contagious. When she started exhibiting and selling in 2024, her work was met with equal enthusiasm. The stream of positive feedback from customers at the markets and comments overheard at her first art show gave Hayley the confidence to pursue painting full-time.
In her family, Hayley was dubbed ‘the artistic one’ because, from early childhood, she was always drawing. While neither of her parents are artists, one of her grandmothers had impressive drawing skills. Hayley feels that’s where she inherited her talent. Also, one of her father’s cousins, Richard Musgrave-Evans is a painter. Hayley has always admired his work. There is a hint of his style in her paintings.
Studying Visual Communication at Avila College in Mount Waverley, Hayley started taking Year 11 art subjects in Year 10 and won her first art prize that same year for a photorealistic drawing of a lamp and cord. Her gift for precision was clear. In her paintings, she wanted her work to be looser and more ‘painterly’. Hayley happened upon an art exhibition of Craig Penny’s paintings in Sorrento and thought they were perfection. It was exactly the style she wanted to emulate. She took a workshop with him and was delighted to hear that he started his career as an illustrator and had to work at making his work looser to suit painting, just like she did. This gave Hayley the confidence to work in that direction.
As natural as she is at drawing and painting, art wasn’t the career Hayley expected to pursue. She’s also a talented singer/songwriter. She thought music was her future. Hayley created a short film featuring her singing, songwriting and animation. It’s on YouTube under Hayzl – Pie (Official Music Video). It took two months to complete, working on it every day. Her vocal skill speaks for itself. Still, her expected direction was about to change.
“I like singing, but it didn’t feel right as a career. As soon as I started art, it just felt right. It doesn’t feel like work. It’s just fun,” she says.
While sitting in a café with her Dad, he looked over at an enormous mural and suggested that Hayley become a painter. It was a watershed moment that changed her life. While she’ll continue making music, painting is her real jam. “I like singing, but it didn’t feel right as a career. As soon as I started art, it just felt right. It doesn’t feel like work. It’s just fun,” she says.
Initially, Hayley created photorealistic paintings in oils and discovered that she was naturally good at paint mixing. She liked the medium, but found oil paint took too long to dry. She wanted to be able to produce work more swiftly. Hayley switched to acrylics. She has to work fast because acrylics dry quickly, but she he enjoys being able to create many layers.
In preparation for becoming a painter, Hayley learned various techniques by watching hundreds of YouTube videos on painting. She just couldn’t get enough of learning about what painters do and how they do it. When she took that painting workshop with Craig Penny, Hayley started to paint prolifically and her own style emerged.
“I had to teach myself how to be a painter. I had to train my brain to relax and be less rigid in the way I see things. Allowing myself to fail was a turning point.
“I had to teach myself how to be a painter. I had to train my brain to relax and be less rigid in the way I see things. Allowing myself to fail was a turning point. To make mistakes and be okay with it made me keep going. Now I just paint. When I’m painting, everything else just disappears. It’s my own daily meditation,” she says.
A loose background with a single defined focal point that jumps off the canvas is a hallmark of Hayley’s paintings. Boats and seascapes are her favourite subjects. She loves painting Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula. Summers spent camping in Sorrento made an indelible impression. “It has a kind of ghostly charm and timeless beauty,” she says. Hayley returns regularly for inspiration.
Living on the Golden Mile in Frankston provides countless opportunities for inspiration and subject matter. “I feel most at home in Frankston. Our house, the beach, the waterfront, Olivers Hill – it’s all incredible. I love introducing people to Frankston. It’s an amazing place that has everything,” she says. “The bay and ocean always inspire me. The water gives me a magical feeling and the coastline is so fun to paint. It feels limitless. At first, I didn’t want people in my paintings. I only wanted the beauty of the place. I thought figures interrupted the scene, but now I love painting people. They only add to the image, ” she says.
Having her own gallery one day is the ultimate goal, but for now, she’ll keep painting, entering art shows, going to markets and looking to get her work into shops. Creating comes naturally to ‘the artistic one’. All that hard work is paying off. Her beautiful, affordable paintings sell out quickly. If you like a piece, snap it up fast!
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