Shan Richards is a Sydney-based visual artist whose vibrant oil paintings create immersive, layered worlds. With a couture design background and international experience in fashion and fine art, she brings a tactile, sculptural quality to her work. Her award-winning pieces often feature geishas, koi and roses, blending bold colour with fabric-inspired folds to evoke depth and meaning.
Trained at East Sydney Design Studio and Whitehouse Institute of Design, Shan refined her couture skills with industry mentors before expanding into painting, including studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. She continues to exhibit nationally and internationally, exploring new connections between art, emotion and human experience.
What insights have you gained in exploring the crossover between painting and fashion?
My background in couture deeply informs my painting. I was drawn to the structure, detail and ritual of handcrafting - especially pleating, which felt like sculpture. I loved how fabric could be folded and shaped to create movement and depth, and I now explore those same principles in painting. Fashion techniques, particularly working with three-dimensional form, sharpened my eye for depth, structure and composition. Much of my work carries the sense of fabric folding around the subject like a dreamscape made of silk - directly influenced by my experience with textiles. There’s a shared emotional language between fashion and painting. Both are symbolic, expressive and rooted in beauty. Haute couture continues to influence me, especially the use of silk and its relationship with light, movement and the body. I translate those ideas through layered paint, surreal folds and textured brushwork. For me, the line between fabric and paint was never fixed - couture was always visual storytelling. Now, I use paint instead of fabric, with the same intention: to evoke feeling, explore form and create something beautiful.

Why did you exchange the very public world of couture fashion for the more private realm of painting?
The shift was driven by personal alignment. I’ve always loved creating, whether with fabric or paint, but painting offered a rhythm more in tune with who I am. Couture is vibrant and outward-facing - filled with craft, theatre and collaboration - and it shaped my creative foundation. Yet I was drawn more to the quiet space of the studio than the energy of the runway. Painting lets me slow down, reflect and explore ideas without the pressure of timelines or trends. There’s a meditative quality to it that I deeply value. Even in couture, I often worked solo - hand-pleating and constructing with focus - so painting felt like a natural evolution of that immersive process. It gave me freedom to experiment and develop a personal visual language. I’m naturally ambiverted, shifting between inward reflection and outward connection. I love engaging with others but also need space to observe, process and create in solitude. Painting gives me that balance - allowing me to step back from the noise while still expressing and sharing something meaningful.
Why move from a 3D medium to a 2D one, but still capture the illusion of 3D?
I’ve always been captivated by fabric-how it folds, flows and catches light. My years in couture, especially with pleating and moulage, taught me how fabric sculpts the body. When I moved into painting, I began translating those techniques into two-dimensional works, using paint to evoke depth, movement and texture. My goal is to give the surface a sculptural feel that sparks curiosity and opens a portal into a dreamlike world. I strive to create illusion and awe, inviting the viewer to lose themselves and find meaning in its depths.

Did your passion for colour come from a study of colour theory?
I never formally studied colour theory, though I’ve always been drawn to its properties. Colour is a language - a way to express mood, energy and emotion. I’m especially inspired by nature’s palette, often influenced by exotic landscapes and underwater worlds. It’s the thread that runs through all my work, shaping atmosphere and anchoring my creative process.
My understanding of colour has grown through hands-on experience in painting, couture, photography and travel. In fashion, I learned to build palettes that tell a story. Through travel, I’ve seen how different cultures use colour to express identity and ritual - each with its own visual language. I constantly study how colours interact, how light transforms them, and how thoughtful placement brings them to life. I’ve absorbed colour theory intuitively, emotionally and obsessively. Colour doesn’t just support my work -it drives it.
Through your work, you say you aim to push the boundaries of traditional artistic expression. How?
To me, pushing boundaries means taking something familiar - a koi pond, a landscape - and reimagining it through a surreal, emotional lens. I’m drawn to the space between reality and dream, where the goal isn’t to replicate a camera’s view but to transform it into something layered and poetic. I use colour, structure and emotion to sculpt visual depth in two dimensions, drawing from couture to build forms that feel almost tangible. Folds, pleats, texture, light and shadow create movement and illusion. My process is intuitive. I let each piece unfold organically, often discovering new directions as I go. That’s where the magic happens - when the work transcends the subject and invites the viewer into another world. I aim to create art that feels open, immersive and dreamlike, offering wonder and possibility that deepens over time.
How is your love for travel reflected in your photography and paintings?
Travel has always been central to my creativity. I’ve explored Central and South America, Asia and Eastern Europe, drawn to places rich in cultural identity and visual stories. In Antigua and Tbilisi, I was struck by weathered walls and details layered with history. In Kyoto, the elegance of geishas and their surrounds lingered in my mind. And in the markets of Chichicastenango, Guatemala, the colour, movement and woven textiles left a lasting impression.
These experiences begin with photography, then evolve into paintings shaped by memory and emotion. I blend reference images with curiosity, colour recall and feeling. Travel leaves a deep imprint, and those moments often become the soul of what I paint.

What is your ambition for the Inner West Creative Network?
Coming out of COVID, I felt creatively isolated. Having stepped fully into healthcare, I lost connection with the art world - even though that work was meaningful. Many artists shared that experience, lacking galleries, studios or creative communities. My involvement in hospital wellbeing committees revealed the power of shared purpose and inspired me to find something similar for local artists. That led me to the Inner West Creative Network.
My ambition is to help build a connected, inclusive and inspiring creative landscape - one that encourages collaboration, values diverse thinking, and supports both social and professional connections. It’s been fantastic to watch the network grow, new opportunities emerge, and the community go from strength to strength.
What direction would you like to take your varied interests in future?
Creativity is an endless landscape. Painting remains my core focus, especially evolving my couture-inspired style infused with vibrant colour. Each piece is a discovery, and I’m energized by where the work leads. I’m passionate about the intersection of art and wellbeing - my healthcare experience has shown how colour, creative exploration and curiosity can uplift clinical spaces, an area I’m excited to continue pursuing.
I’m part of the team of artists behind Inside Outside, an innovative arts initiative that operates like a gallery, representing culturally diverse artists united by a shared vision and business focus. Together, we create opportunities to exhibit, grow and support each other. Travelling and exhibiting internationally is also a key focus. My recent international exhibitions connected me with artists across cultures and offered valuable insight into different art markets. Through collaboration, wellbeing work and global exposure, I’m driven by curiosity and creative evolution. At the heart of it all is my love of painting - a practice I know will stay with me for life.

Article by Tamara Winikoff
Tamara Winikoff is an independent consultant with extensive experience in arts advocacy, policy, and cultural leadership. She was a a founding member of the Inner West Creative Network and served as Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) for 22 years, championing artists' rights and sector development. As Co-convenor of ArtsPeak, she coordinated national arts policy initiatives. Previously, she managed the Community, Environment, Art and Design (CEAD) program at the Australia Council for the Arts and lectured in Cultural Environment and Heritage at Macquarie University. Based in Sydney, she continues to influence the cultural landscape through strategic consultancy.