February 27, 2025 • 12 mins
What do Lorde and Olivia Rodrigo have in common? Aside from both being global music megastars, they’re both also the proud owners of original artwork by local artist Brandi Salmon.
But how did Brandi go from working a 9-5 corporate job, to creating stunning paintings for some of the world’s biggest pop singers?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What De Lord and Olivia Rodrigo have in common, well
a lot of things, But aside from both being global
music megastars, they're both also the proud owners of original
artworks my Tasmanian based artist Brandy Salmon. But how did
Brandy go from working a nine to five corporate job
to creating stunning paintings for some of the world's biggest
(00:24):
pop singers. I'm frett Alen and this is iHeart Tazzy.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I Heart Dazzy. Five years ago now, when COVID hit,
I actually came down this for a holiday to visit
my family. He live young here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Brandy Salmon was in Tasmania when we first went into
lockdown as the state closed its borders. She had a
tough decision to make returned to her legal job in
Victoria or stay here in Tazi.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So that was quite stressful at the time, but I
think it was meant to happen, and I believe everything
happens for a reason, because yeah, it kind of forced
me back into my whole which one of them being art,
and I just decided to take my art seriously and
I decided to the staydr.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Forever now settled in Granted, Brandy is working as a
full time artist, something she's wanted to do since she
was a child.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I've always been into art drawing, but I started painting
when I was about seventeen years old after I watched
a documentary on one of the Old Master's rem brands
and I just thought to myself, I would really like
to give it a go. Oil painting was always something
that I never thought I could do, though, so I
(01:36):
really had to. Like I taught myself just by watching
YouTube videos and things like that. And yeah, that was
over ten years ago now.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Brandy studied art at university, but then found herself working
a nine to five office job without the opportunity to
flex her creative muscles. But being trapped in Tasmania during
the pandemic it gave her the perfect opportunity to pick
up a paintbrush and start creating again.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Tasmania was always something that or somewhere. I wanted to
move here because of my family being here, like my mom, my, sisters,
my nieces, and nephew's here. So I think moving here
was it was just meant to be, even though it
started kind of not how I wanted it to I
didn't really like. I was sleeping in my sister's house
(02:20):
in the bedroom on a mattress on the floor. Kind
of had to start over. And then I met my
current partner who kind of motivated me to start my business.
He said, why did you actually take it serious, take
your painting serious and take it into a business or.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Just start posting years ago?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
It was about one year after I got here. It
was just the one Brandy Salmon art, which is I
just explore my aborigonality through my art. Was that business
and I felt print, cup painting, all that type of stuff.
And then I decided to start as wedding painter about
one year ago. Where I go to live, well, I
(03:04):
go to weddings and do live wedding paintings, which has
been really interesting. And I did one just like two
days ago. It's really cool, it's really really fun.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
It can be tough to make a living as an artist,
but Brandy says life wedding paintings there are a great
way to monetite her skills.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So I came across it by watching TikTok. There was
one artist who is a live wedding painter in Melvin.
Her name is Rebecca and she absolutely smashes it and
it just seems so fun, like scary got fun to,
you know, do these paintings in front of people. So
(03:43):
I thought, I'm going to give it a crack because
she always would post reaction videos of like the clients
and the families and things, and it was always so positive.
So I just thought, I'm going to try to start
because I think there's only one or two wedding painters
in all of Tasmee, so I thought there was a
bit of a gap for this kind of work. So
(04:05):
I thought I might as well just give it to go.
And so, yeah, it's been really really fun so far.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's also helped to push her out of her comfort zone.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But yeah, I love it because of the just talking
to all of the people. It's so different to what
I'm used to. I'm usually in my little studio aka
bedroom by myself, and this is just like you're literally
painting for six hours and chatting at the same time
for like hundreds of people. So I love it for that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Putting yourself out there has also helped Brandy forge connections
within the Tasmanian art scene.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Well, I'm finally getting more out there, I think because
I'm a bit of a hermit in my little art studio.
But I'm starting to go out and meet people. And
I'm doing a mural with Phoebe Diggle, who is a
young talented artist. We'll be doing that in Wellington Court
and that has been commissioned by the City of Herbert
(05:03):
and it's going to be really cool and I've been
meeting some talented people through that.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Coming up on iHeart Tazzy this week, how Brandy's art
ended up in the homes of Lord and Olivia Rodrigo,
My Heart Zazzy, My Heart Assi local artists. Brandy Salmon
had never imagined her artwork would be hanging on the
walls of some of the world's biggest musical artists, but
(05:28):
one day she received a phone call that would change
her life.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So basically what happened was my friend he was working
I'm not entirely sure what company he was working for,
but a few years ago he reached out to me
and said, Hey, I've got a client that is wants
like a list of artists for something. He didn't tell
me anything, he was super vague. He just said, can
(05:54):
I put your name down on this list? And I'm
like okay, and then I forgot about it, and then
I got an email about a few months later from
Universal Music Australia saying, hey, where Lord is coming into
town for her core for Solar Power and she'll be
(06:19):
in with mee withoud like she picked her a.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Painting Brandy was tasked with creating a piece that encapsulated
Lord's style while also representing Australia.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So it was kind of a hard brief. So I
just kind of took the colors from her album and
her music videos and combined them and so yeah, that happened,
and then they came back to me about a year later,
and then they did the same for Olivia Rodrigo, which
was when I found out. I was screaming. Yeah. It
(06:48):
was pretty exciting, and they wanted something that was the
same her colors, but Australian. So I decided to paint
the grape barrier reef in purple, which was really cool.
Olivia Rodrico, she actually said that she'd been looking for
art for her new house that she's just thought so
I was pretty much like, that means she's gonna hang
(07:09):
in like that astamine that's happening, So Yeah, it's pretty
bizarre because, especially with Lord, I used to listen to
her because I've worked in the government for a few
years and I've patched the bus every day and listened
to Lord her songs like every day. And then Nick minute,
I'm doing a painting for her and I.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Got a photo for both artworks. Brandy drew on her
Aboriginal heritage, something that she's found bleeds through into all
of her pieces, so it comes.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Through many different ways. I think. Having not grown up
on my own country, so I'm wagerie, so I was
always kind of searching for my identity and wondering what
should I paint because you know, the stereotype and has
pushed onto me a lot during my life was that
I should be doing dot pain or traditional arts. So
(08:04):
I was kind of in limbo as a young Aboriginal artist.
I thought, oh am I able to do like coating,
like portraits and stuff, and so I kind of had
to explore that and I just decided to start painting
whatever I felt like painting, except for, yeah, I don't
do the traditional stuff because I was never I don't
(08:27):
have permissions to do that, so I'm not even going
to touch that so I've been doing it portraits and
stuff that I think symbolize the ways that I grew up.
So I paint aunties within my painting, aunties that I've
kind of created, like these characters. And I've also worked
in the courts in the family violence areas, so that
(08:52):
really had an impact on what I paint as well,
and I sent to paint stuff about, you know, people
who's diving, custody and things like that. I've tried to
uplift Aboriginal people within my aunt in ways, like to
say someone passes, I will go to their mum and
ask them if they'd like me to raise awareness for
(09:14):
what's happened by pacing a portrait. But yeah, I kind
of do a mixture of things.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
There can be a lot of preconceptions about what Aboriginal
art should look like, and that's something Brandy is trying
to challenge.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Felt really like kind of almost pressured by other people's
ideas of what I should be, which I found really difficult.
Even going to art school. I found it difficult because
I went to like a section of this though it's
called the Institute of Career Education, and I still didn't
really have any direction on where a watch I should
(09:49):
be doing. So I think it's just I just kind
of let go and was like, I'm just going to
hate whatever feels right. I'm not gonna put pressure on
myself to inform that makes sense. And I think a
part of my art as well is just being educational
to a lot of people to show that we don't all,
(10:10):
do you know, the traditional type of art, we do
other things as well.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
She's found that art can help explore her identity, and
she's hoping to encourage others to do the.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Same, because it would feel really weird of me to
be like, I create reradgerie art even though I haven't.
I have like never seen no one's ever taught me
any of that, So I don't want to step on
any toes as well. I just wouldn't prefer to just
create what I want to create. I think that one
(10:43):
thing that really stuck with me. I don't know where
I read it, but it was someone said there has
never been a better time to be an artist than now,
which I really believe, like the fact that we can
just post a photo of our artworks and it can
be seen by millions of people instantly, Like can you
imagine if fan Go has Instagram, that would be insane. Like,
(11:07):
I just think that there's so much opportunity now, and
I think that the whole starving artist thing is dead.
I don't think that is as prevalent now as it
used to be. I think that, yeah, I think there's
lots of opportunities for young artists that they really want
to give it a go. And I guess with the
(11:30):
getting over being shame job and that type of thing,
it's just I think it just takes practice. And I
think that for me, knowing that I won't please everyone,
there's always going to be someone who does with my kids.
So I've just thought I always think of that one
I post an artwork to make myself feel better because
(11:52):
it's scary when you get those trolds in the comments.
So yeah, I think that would be my advice.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And that's it for this week's episode. Will be back
again next week, but until then, you can explore our
entire back catalog in the Iheartazzy podcast feed. I'm brute, Alan,
thanks for your company.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
My heart Tazzy
I Heart Dazzy.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
What De Lord and Olivia Rodrigo have in common, well
a lot of things, But aside from both being global
music megastars, they're both also the proud owners of original
artworks my Tasmanian based artist Brandy Salmon. But how did
Brandy go from working a nine to five corporate job
to creating stunning paintings for some of the world's biggest
(00:24):
pop singers. I'm frett Alen and this is iHeart Tazzy.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
I Heart Dazzy. Five years ago now, when COVID hit,
I actually came down this for a holiday to visit
my family. He live young here.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Brandy Salmon was in Tasmania when we first went into
lockdown as the state closed its borders. She had a
tough decision to make returned to her legal job in
Victoria or stay here in Tazi.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
So that was quite stressful at the time, but I
think it was meant to happen, and I believe everything
happens for a reason, because yeah, it kind of forced
me back into my whole which one of them being art,
and I just decided to take my art seriously and
I decided to the staydr.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Forever now settled in Granted, Brandy is working as a
full time artist, something she's wanted to do since she
was a child.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I've always been into art drawing, but I started painting
when I was about seventeen years old after I watched
a documentary on one of the Old Master's rem brands
and I just thought to myself, I would really like
to give it a go. Oil painting was always something
that I never thought I could do, though, so I
(01:36):
really had to. Like I taught myself just by watching
YouTube videos and things like that. And yeah, that was
over ten years ago now.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Brandy studied art at university, but then found herself working
a nine to five office job without the opportunity to
flex her creative muscles. But being trapped in Tasmania during
the pandemic it gave her the perfect opportunity to pick
up a paintbrush and start creating again.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Tasmania was always something that or somewhere. I wanted to
move here because of my family being here, like my mom, my, sisters,
my nieces, and nephew's here. So I think moving here
was it was just meant to be, even though it
started kind of not how I wanted it to I
didn't really like. I was sleeping in my sister's house
(02:20):
in the bedroom on a mattress on the floor. Kind
of had to start over. And then I met my
current partner who kind of motivated me to start my business.
He said, why did you actually take it serious, take
your painting serious and take it into a business or.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Just start posting years ago?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
It was about one year after I got here. It
was just the one Brandy Salmon art, which is I
just explore my aborigonality through my art. Was that business
and I felt print, cup painting, all that type of stuff.
And then I decided to start as wedding painter about
one year ago. Where I go to live, well, I
(03:04):
go to weddings and do live wedding paintings, which has
been really interesting. And I did one just like two
days ago. It's really cool, it's really really fun.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
It can be tough to make a living as an artist,
but Brandy says life wedding paintings there are a great
way to monetite her skills.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
So I came across it by watching TikTok. There was
one artist who is a live wedding painter in Melvin.
Her name is Rebecca and she absolutely smashes it and
it just seems so fun, like scary got fun to,
you know, do these paintings in front of people. So
(03:43):
I thought, I'm going to give it a crack because
she always would post reaction videos of like the clients
and the families and things, and it was always so positive.
So I just thought, I'm going to try to start
because I think there's only one or two wedding painters
in all of Tasmee, so I thought there was a
bit of a gap for this kind of work. So
(04:05):
I thought I might as well just give it to go.
And so, yeah, it's been really really fun so far.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
It's also helped to push her out of her comfort zone.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
But yeah, I love it because of the just talking
to all of the people. It's so different to what
I'm used to. I'm usually in my little studio aka
bedroom by myself, and this is just like you're literally
painting for six hours and chatting at the same time
for like hundreds of people. So I love it for that.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Putting yourself out there has also helped Brandy forge connections
within the Tasmanian art scene.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Well, I'm finally getting more out there, I think because
I'm a bit of a hermit in my little art studio.
But I'm starting to go out and meet people. And
I'm doing a mural with Phoebe Diggle, who is a
young talented artist. We'll be doing that in Wellington Court
and that has been commissioned by the City of Herbert
(05:03):
and it's going to be really cool and I've been
meeting some talented people through that.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Coming up on iHeart Tazzy this week, how Brandy's art
ended up in the homes of Lord and Olivia Rodrigo,
My Heart Zazzy, My Heart Assi local artists. Brandy Salmon
had never imagined her artwork would be hanging on the
walls of some of the world's biggest musical artists, but
(05:28):
one day she received a phone call that would change
her life.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
So basically what happened was my friend he was working
I'm not entirely sure what company he was working for,
but a few years ago he reached out to me
and said, Hey, I've got a client that is wants
like a list of artists for something. He didn't tell
me anything, he was super vague. He just said, can
(05:54):
I put your name down on this list? And I'm
like okay, and then I forgot about it, and then
I got an email about a few months later from
Universal Music Australia saying, hey, where Lord is coming into
town for her core for Solar Power and she'll be
(06:19):
in with mee withoud like she picked her a.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Painting Brandy was tasked with creating a piece that encapsulated
Lord's style while also representing Australia.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
So it was kind of a hard brief. So I
just kind of took the colors from her album and
her music videos and combined them and so yeah, that happened,
and then they came back to me about a year later,
and then they did the same for Olivia Rodrigo, which
was when I found out. I was screaming. Yeah. It
(06:48):
was pretty exciting, and they wanted something that was the
same her colors, but Australian. So I decided to paint
the grape barrier reef in purple, which was really cool.
Olivia Rodrico, she actually said that she'd been looking for
art for her new house that she's just thought so
I was pretty much like, that means she's gonna hang
(07:09):
in like that astamine that's happening, So Yeah, it's pretty
bizarre because, especially with Lord, I used to listen to
her because I've worked in the government for a few
years and I've patched the bus every day and listened
to Lord her songs like every day. And then Nick minute,
I'm doing a painting for her and I.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Got a photo for both artworks. Brandy drew on her
Aboriginal heritage, something that she's found bleeds through into all
of her pieces, so it comes.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Through many different ways. I think. Having not grown up
on my own country, so I'm wagerie, so I was
always kind of searching for my identity and wondering what
should I paint because you know, the stereotype and has
pushed onto me a lot during my life was that
I should be doing dot pain or traditional arts. So
(08:04):
I was kind of in limbo as a young Aboriginal artist.
I thought, oh am I able to do like coating,
like portraits and stuff, and so I kind of had
to explore that and I just decided to start painting
whatever I felt like painting, except for, yeah, I don't
do the traditional stuff because I was never I don't
(08:27):
have permissions to do that, so I'm not even going
to touch that so I've been doing it portraits and
stuff that I think symbolize the ways that I grew up.
So I paint aunties within my painting, aunties that I've
kind of created, like these characters. And I've also worked
in the courts in the family violence areas, so that
(08:52):
really had an impact on what I paint as well,
and I sent to paint stuff about, you know, people
who's diving, custody and things like that. I've tried to
uplift Aboriginal people within my aunt in ways, like to
say someone passes, I will go to their mum and
ask them if they'd like me to raise awareness for
(09:14):
what's happened by pacing a portrait. But yeah, I kind
of do a mixture of things.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
There can be a lot of preconceptions about what Aboriginal
art should look like, and that's something Brandy is trying
to challenge.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Felt really like kind of almost pressured by other people's
ideas of what I should be, which I found really difficult.
Even going to art school. I found it difficult because
I went to like a section of this though it's
called the Institute of Career Education, and I still didn't
really have any direction on where a watch I should
(09:49):
be doing. So I think it's just I just kind
of let go and was like, I'm just going to
hate whatever feels right. I'm not gonna put pressure on
myself to inform that makes sense. And I think a
part of my art as well is just being educational
to a lot of people to show that we don't all,
(10:10):
do you know, the traditional type of art, we do
other things as well.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
She's found that art can help explore her identity, and
she's hoping to encourage others to do the.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Same, because it would feel really weird of me to
be like, I create reradgerie art even though I haven't.
I have like never seen no one's ever taught me
any of that, So I don't want to step on
any toes as well. I just wouldn't prefer to just
create what I want to create. I think that one
(10:43):
thing that really stuck with me. I don't know where
I read it, but it was someone said there has
never been a better time to be an artist than now,
which I really believe, like the fact that we can
just post a photo of our artworks and it can
be seen by millions of people instantly, Like can you
imagine if fan Go has Instagram, that would be insane. Like,
(11:07):
I just think that there's so much opportunity now, and
I think that the whole starving artist thing is dead.
I don't think that is as prevalent now as it
used to be. I think that, yeah, I think there's
lots of opportunities for young artists that they really want
to give it a go. And I guess with the
(11:30):
getting over being shame job and that type of thing,
it's just I think it just takes practice. And I
think that for me, knowing that I won't please everyone,
there's always going to be someone who does with my kids.
So I've just thought I always think of that one
I post an artwork to make myself feel better because
(11:52):
it's scary when you get those trolds in the comments.
So yeah, I think that would be my advice.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And that's it for this week's episode. Will be back
again next week, but until then, you can explore our
entire back catalog in the Iheartazzy podcast feed. I'm brute, Alan,
thanks for your company.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
My heart Tazzy
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