Octavia Campbell-Davys

Octavia grew up in Australia where the light, colours and seascapes made a lasting impression on her. She started painting as a child and continued to study both art, and art history, throughout her life. In her early twenties Octavia traveled to New Zealand where she was introduced to polo horses. This became a second passion and took her all round the world, most recently to Argentina and Hungary. Whilst developing her own artistic style, she was very much influenced by the incredible variety of art she saw on her travels. Now mainly retired from her career with horses, Octavia moved to the stunning island of Mallorca five years ago where, again, the sea and the light inspire her new work. Read Octavia’s interview with trobat and shop her exclusive collection of pieces on trobat.co below

What is your discipline and when did you first encounter it?

Painting, which I began as a child.

What was your journey to becoming an artist?

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t paint and draw. My mother was also a curator and my half sister and my cousin are artists.

Who are the key artists whose work inspires your own?

Hockney, Slims Aarons, Hopper

Tell us about your studio?

I work from home in my garden flat. I generally paint outside for the light.

Who's on your dream dinner party guest list, and what do you serve?

I would invite all my grandparents, nearly all of whom I’d never met. I think it would give me so much insight into my own parents. I would love to serve what they would have ordered as their favourite food when they were alive.

What's a film you watched and book you've read recently that had an impact on you?

I recently watched a beautiful Argentinian film called Testigo del Otro Mundo. I’m just finishing the book The Beekeeper of Aleppo which really moved me, and in which art also plays an important part.