b'over the rainbowSonia Reseneinspiration. Native flora, fauna and geology are important to me.ReseneReseneSix questions with Apachevan de HaarReseneDuck Egg BlueAdrenalin In Australia, this naturally means developing my awareness of the ReseneIndigenous culture of the place, which is deeply significant for me. Drop Dead GorgeousThe best colourists in Australia are undoubtedly Aboriginal painters.Quarter ReseneA recent mural project, Floating Vamps, is a small example ofPearl LustaRed Berry how research informs my process. I discovered that there used to left: Sonia recently completed thisbe a Boot Making School and Factory in Erskineville, very near mural, titled Floating Vamps. It featuresto this house. While looking at old boot making pattern books, I W hen Sonia van de Haar moved back to Australia fromResene Resene Resene Ruby Tuesday, Resene Grassrealised that the proportions of the mural wall mirrored that of England in 2010, she decided to design herself theTiber Grass Hopper Hopper, Resene Hive, Resene Fresh,the human foot. The mural was therefore based on shoe making Resene Tiber, Resene Elm, Resene Redpatterns, as a subtle reflection of family lifeall the shoes that get perfect job, one that would combine her experiencesBerry, Resene Adrenalin and Resenestrewn about in various sizes as the children grow. The colours were as an artist and architect. To me that meant working for myself,Resene Drop Dead Gorgeous. Image by Vikramdeveloped in response to the interior colours in the house, and to working across disciplines, pursuing collaborative opportunitiesElm Hingmire, www.vikhingmire.com. provide a striking and playful focal point in the house. The clients and working with colour on a large scale, she says. lives, their colour tastes and local history are woven into the work.Sonia founded her practice, Lymesmith, as a bespoke colour studio working across the built environment. She studied paintingLime is ubiquitous in Indian lifeevery family kept a bucket ofdevelop from the site. I know this year has been really hard to plan for with so much at the Canberra Institute of the Arts, ANU and architecture atslaked lime in the house. It is used to cleanse and purify, to makeI have a passion for colour, and specifically for colour that isbeing up in the air for many people, but do you have any exciting the University of NSW, but she also studied fresco painting at themortar and plaster, for ceremony, for painting and decoration, andcontextual and colour that carries meaning for a site, place orupcoming news to share?Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India. even in food and medicine. My studio name Lymesmith comesfor the people using it. Clients and architects who value thatThe largest, most complex project Ive ever worked on has just I had recognised a lack of colour knowledge in the disciplinedirectly from that experience. It represents the interconnectednessapproach and want to experiment with colour are the ones thatgone to tender. Its a new Animal Rehoming Centre in Western of architecture and I felt there could be an opportunity to createof our bodies with nature, art and architecture. tend to seek me out. Sydney designed by Sam Crawford Architects. I first started something unique in that area. My first job was to design 12 largeworking on it in 2016, and I have designed a 100m long screen/chimneys for an eco-powerplant in a city park. I used colour toWhom or what has influenced your style? Which are your favourite types of projects to work on? securityfence,whichismadeupofhundredsofcoloured create a resonance between the industrial chimneys, the parkThere are so many influences, its difficult to pinpoint the mostArchitectural projects where I am involved from an early stage,metalangles.Thecoloursrepresentsixdifferentbirdspecies trees and the architecture of the swimming pool within the park.important ones, and they dont stop accumulating. Im just goingsothattheconceptualapproachtocolourandmaterialityisfromtheendangeredCumberlandPlanWoodlandhabitat Its subtly playful, and people really responded to the concept.to list a bunch of them in no particular order and people can lookdeveloped in an integrated way. I always work with long-termthats adjacent to the site. I have also designed the interior and Lymesmith grew from there. them up if they want to: Louise Bourgeois, Mark Rothko, Gerhardcollaborators, such as Sam Crawford Architects, like this, and ourexterior colour palettes for the six buildings of the facility. Each I always wanted to work in an interdisciplinary way, it just takesRichter, Mabel Juli, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Colin McCahon,results speak for themselves. building represents a bird, so there is a lot of colour variation and time to develop the skills to get there. I tend to think of interiorBernini, Rover Thomas, Joseph Albers, Alexander Calder, GerritAlso, projects where the clients are involved and contribute toplayfulness incorporated into what are actually very utilitarian, colour design as painting in three dimensions, and I think aboutRietveld,LeCorbusier,theBauhaus,NonggirrngaMarawili,the journey, and where there is enough time for the research intoshed-like structures. The colours are a key element for wayfinding exterior building colour through a lens of urban design principles. Matisse, Paul Pholeros, Phillip Thalis, Indigenous architecture,the local context of the site, the environment, history of use, cultureand public engagement, but they also carry a story of place. Sonia tells us more about her journey, influences, and whatJorn Utzon, Jean Nouvels Cartier Foundation in Paris, Studioand architecture. Everything becomes better with time and care. I cant wait to see this one built. she does when she feels stuck on a project. Mumbai,HellaJongerius,KatrinTrautwein,PietMondrian,And mural commissions. I love painting on a large scale, itsReseneReseneReseneabove left: Sonia created this colourful and stunning mural for C.C. Fiona Hall and Carlo Scarpa. Being on land in the country withphysically demanding, it involves taking risks, but I am happiestHalf Escape Hive Apple Blossom Babcoq Restaurant in Cronulla, NSW for Tom Mark Henry Studio,How has your time in India and your education in fresco paintingtraditionalownersandalwaystryingtocontinuelearningarewhen Im on the tools rather than at a desk. What do you love about Resene products?ReseneReseneResenewww.tommarkhenry.studio, using Resene Half Escape, Resene Tacao, influenced your architectural and interior design work in Australasia? influences, too. I use Resene for lots of different reasons, but foremost amongFresh Paper Doll Red Oxide Resene Paper Doll, Resene Apache, Resene Cape Palliser, Resene Turtle them is they have the best colour range. For interior spaces,Green, Resene Black, Resene Feijoa, Resene Red Oxide and Resene India was a turning point. I was a very young art student, my headOf course, my clients are also a vital influence. I want to workWhere do you find your inspiration for new designs, both forReseneReseneReseneApple Blossom. Image by Damien Bennett, www.damianbennett.com, in the clouds, all my ideas were very esoteric. India was not awith their influences to create spaces with which they have ayour 2D and 3D work? I almost always use Resene SpaceCote Flat. It has a beautifulFeijoa Tacao Cape Pallliser and Rachel Kara, www.rachelkara.com.spiritual experience for me; it was a hard, physical shock. I had mystrong affinity. This keeps me trying new things and taking risks.Hella Jongerius said, its absurd and arrogant to begin the designfinish,thepaintersloveit,andbecauseitissomuchmoreReseneReseneResene eyes opened to the physicality of life, of colour, of pigment andI dont like repeating myself, even when I have sometimes usedprocess with an empty piece of paper. Cultural and historicalserviceable than a standard flat paint, I can sell its benefits toTurtle Green Ruby Tuesday Black above right: Sonia paired upper walls and a ceiling in Resene Duck Egg Blue most clients.with lower tongue-and-groove walls in Resene Quarter Pearl Lusta on her painting, through studying fresco. Working daily with the causticthe same colour in different projects, I would never repeat anawareness are woven into the DNA of any worthwhile project. Ballast Point House project. Architectural design by Fox Johnston Architects, lime plaster had the effect of burning away my fingerprints. entire colour palette in a different location. The palette has toResearching the site and its context is often my key source ofwww.lymesmith.com.au www.foxjohnston.com.au, image by Anson Smart, www.ansonsmart.com.30 blackwhitemag.com blackwhitemag.com 31'