diana ellinger’s love of colour is no surprise when you learn that travel has been a formative part of her personal and professional identity. an australian abstract painter, diana’s work is joyously alive with strokes of cerulean blue, turquoise, and ochre red. looking at any one of her paintings, one can imagine a bustling street scene, or an ominous sky on the verge of monsoon. for two years, diana lived with her husband and children in mumbai, where her practice took on new meaning. in march 2020, just as news of the pandemic broke out, diana returned to australia with her family, where she’s now living and working in watson, canberra.

we were delighted to have the chance to sit down with diana and talk about life in mumbai, how travel colours her work, and her artistic inspiration.

Hi Diana. Tell us a little about yourself.

hello! I live in canberra with my little family – my husband chris and our two daughters emily and josephine, with a new baby expected in march. i’m a painter and my husband’s work in foreign policy means we have had the privilege to live overseas for relatively long periods. currently we are happy at home in watson, a northern suburb of canberra which is nestled below the majura mountain reserve and criss-crossed with greenways, wetlands and public parks.

You spent several years living as an expat in Mumbai. Tell us a little about your time there. How has it informed you both personally and artistically?

we returned from mumbai in march 2020 just as the world health organisation declared the outbreak of the pandemic. we were devastated when we realised that for the safety of our family we would need to cut our time short. nevertheless, we are grateful to have called mumbai home for nearly two years.

it’s impossible not to be changed by the experience of india, I think even the shortest visit can broaden your view of the world – its history, humanity, the environment – everything is slanted in a different direction, everything happens at once and nothing is tidied away so that every day is a physical encounter of smells, heat and improbable sights! It really is an incredible country.

mumbai is a cosmopolitan city. we lived in an old suburb called bandra, known for its beautifully decrepit bungalows, upscale restaurants, bars and boutiques and bollywood celebrities. we felt right at home exploring the streets and markets and never felt unsafe or out of place. but sometimes living in mumbai would stir up complicated feelings. residential towers, incredible homes for billionaires boasted views of vast slums. car rides to school and work were inching, epic adventures through human seas of activity. a long pause at an intersection or traffic light was often like having front row seats in a kind of street theatre played out in someone’s kitchen, which just so happens to be beneath an underpass. emily and I would sometimes find ourselves frantically posting cookies and museli bars through the car window to grateful hands, and I know this has impacted her – she still requests her leftovers be kept for tomorrow.

“it’s impossible not to be changed by the experience of india, I think even the shortest visit can broaden your view of the world – its history, humanity, the environment – everything is slanted in a different direction, everything happens at once and nothing is tidied away so that every day is a physical encounter of smells, heat and improbable sights! ”

I was privileged to work a little with an ngo called apnalaya who do amazing work supporting a marginalised community living in the foothills of a 19 storey rubbish dump mountain. like in other slums throughout mumbai, the trash filled gullies are crammed with people picking out a living, sourcing anything they can find to be reused, or sold on. life in the shadow of the deonar dumping ground is insecure and families live not only within a toxic halo of gas from the waste but also at the mercy of the seasons with monsoon rains periodically filling their homes to the roof with concentrated trash water. the pandemic has pushed communities like this to the absolute edge. saumya roy published her book castaway mountain just this year and it tells real stories about life as a wastepicker living on deonar rubbish mountain and it is an absolutely gripping read and an incredible insight.

memories of our time in mumbai are thankfully not dominated by our witness to great poverty they are instead a long loom of experiences we will never forget. things like popping down to punjab sweets for samosas, date chutney and tiny intricately shaped desserts full of cardamom and sugar. yoga inside while monsoon rains fall endlessly outside. people (and animals!) watching in the streets. visiting towns outside of mumbai and always, without fail, discovering an ancient stepwell/temple/fort/carved mountainside. beautiful fabrics, ceramics, carving and painting. waterfalls and wildlife. resourceful, warm, accommodating people. spices and well-loved vegetables. we are so lucky to have these memories and I hope these experiences have made me a better person.

How important is place in your work?

although my work is not a literal interpretation of place nor completely autobiographical, where I am always just makes its way in somehow. my paintings are often reflections of something I’ve seen or felt and different collections of work do belong to a specific time or place.

We love how you use colour in your work. What are some places you’ve travelled to with inspiring colour palettes?

thank you! colour is definitely an important aspect of my work. a year after we moved back to australia from mumbai, our belongings arrived, including some canvases I was working on. I was blinded by the colours and have actually turned some around towards the wall so as not to be distracted by their contrast. long drives through mumbai were sometimes frustrating but the ways in which colour is used, in architecture, clothing and in all surrounds is breathtaking. bright colours are assaulted by the climate and pollution in a way that makes them incredibly unique. the colours acquire a sort of faded, grubby patina that is impossible to mix directly from tubes of paint. I considered leaving work out to dry on a balcony, exposed to the elements of the polluted, salty arabian sea air to achieve similar hues.

jaipur in rajasthan was painted pink in 1876 to welcome queen victoria’s husband prince albert. over a century of atmospheric treatment means that you can now get lost in endless variations of dusky pinks, salmons and even terracottas. india is a colourist’s paradise.

“bright colours are assaulted by the climate and pollution in a way that makes them incredibly unique. the colours acquire a sort of faded, grubby patina that is impossible to mix directly from tubes of paint. I considered leaving work out to dry on a balcony, exposed to the elements of the polluted, salty arabian sea air to achieve similar hues.”

An out of towner is visiting for the day. Where do you take them?

these days we live in canberra which couldn’t be more different than mumbai. when friends visit we normally like to go for a bushwalk along our local trail in the mt majura reserve. The national arboretum is also a must do, along with the national gallery of australia. if visitors are around when parliament is sitting, question time can be quite rowdy and interesting, plus the parliament house entrance hall with its marble pillars and staircase are an 80s marvel! lonsdale street in braddon is a fun hive of boutique shops, cafes and bars and where we normally meet friends.

“these encounters with other cultures are so invigorating, and are often free and completely addictive! getting by speaking only a foreign language (and getting away with it), seeking out the oldest part of a city, taking a long train journey with nice big windows and a table for colouring in and playing games, taking the backroads instead of the highway are just some of the ways you can have authentic adventures”

Where do you get your best work done?

honestly, anywhere I can be alone and make a mess without parenting responsibilities!

What makes travel transformative and inspiring for you?

I think like many people, when I travel I love to be completely immersed in a new place, among local people. one of my favourite memories of mumbai is being caught up in a huge crowd of busy mumbaikars, being swept along unnoticed but in a place so different to home. these encounters with other cultures are so invigorating, and are often free and completely addictive! getting by speaking only a foreign language (and getting away with it), seeking out the oldest part of a city, taking a long train journey with nice big windows and a table for colouring in and playing games, taking the backroads instead of the highway are just some of the ways you can have authentic adventures.

top three international travel destinations?

the museo de arte abstracto español is a favourite artsy destination of mine, and it’s perched on a mountainside in cuenca a couple of hours fast train ride from madrid.
exploring bronze age underground cities, in cappadocia, central turkey was one of our most memorable family holidays.
spotting waterfalls, hornbills and native peacocks in the athirapally rainforest in kerala was an incredible connection with nature I still like to day dream about.

Favourite artists?

I’m really interested in mid 20th century abstraction, artists such as helen frankenthaler and other abstract expressionist giants such as rothko and pollock who used gesture in painting. I’m influenced by artists still working today such as amy sillman and charline von heyl whose contemporary practices have reengaged older notions of abstraction and have embodied, corporeal modes of working. although abstraction is my primary interest I am also inspired by figurative painters such as luc tuymans and karin mama andersson. actually my list of favourite artists is very long so I’m going to stop here!

follow diana on instagram here, @dianaellinger, and learn more about her work at https://dianaellinger.com/.

how mumbai inspired the abstract paintings of artist diana ellinger

we were delighted to have the chance to sit down with diana and talk about life in mumbai, how travel colours her work, and her artistic inspiration.

we returned from mumbai in march 2020 just as the world health organisation declared the outbreak of the pandemic. we were devastated when we realised that for the safety of our family we would need to cut our time short. nevertheless, we are grateful to have called mumbai home for nearly two years.

although my work is not a literal interpretation of place nor completely autobiographical, where I am always just makes its way in somehow. my paintings are often reflections of something I’ve seen or felt and different collections of work do belong to a specific time or place.

jaipur in rajasthan was painted pink in 1876 to welcome queen victoria’s husband prince albert. over a century of atmospheric treatment means that you can now get lost in endless variations of dusky pinks, salmons and even terracottas. india is a colourist’s paradise.

honestly, anywhere I can be alone and make a mess without parenting responsibilities!

the museo de arte abstracto español is a favourite artsy destination of mine, and it’s perched on a mountainside in cuenca a couple of hours fast train ride from madrid.

exploring bronze age underground cities, in cappadocia, central turkey was one of our most memorable family holidays.

spotting waterfalls, hornbills and native peacocks in the athirapally rainforest in kerala was an incredible connection with nature I still like to day dream about.