Ever look at a piece of art and just get lost in its beauty and find yourself smiling through a whirlwind of thoughts? Because same. Often for us, when the art is bigger and brighter it often is better – let’s be honest. And one local artist that gives us serious love heart eyes is Tania Blanchard. You may recognise her impasto dots style art from The Block, or prestigious magazines like Queensland Homes or Home Beautiful. Read on to find out about her creative process and her local loves.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
I’ve been on the Gold Coast in Burleigh for almost 18 years. A whole lifetime — in fact, my first son was only 9 months old when we moved here from Sydney. There have been a lot of milestones here.

Burleigh has definitely changed in those 18 years. It’s pretty cliche but my husband at the time got his dream job here and was mad about surfing so we just up and moved and I haven’t left since.

I have seen Burleigh change over the years from what seemed like a very quiet, low-key street to now a super cool place that everyone wants to live in. Amazing restaurants, great clothing stores and an atmosphere that is exciting and very welcoming.

Experiencing the change has been phenomenal. One thing that hasn’t changed in the laid-back feel that Queensland will always offer — you can still head straight off the beach and walk around bare feet — it’s great!

What do you love the most about the Gold Coast?
Apart from the obvious things like the amazing beaches, surf breaks, laid-back lifestyle and fabulous weather, there’s a really cool art scene here. I used to own an art gallery in Burleigh where I was in the thick of the local art community. I met some amazing and talented local artists and we are still friends today.

There’s a real stereotype about what Gold Coasters are, but once you go deeper than the surface the people are fantastic. So it’s the down-to-earth and gorgeous friendships that I have made over the years that make me love the Gold Coast. Most of these wonderful friendships were made when my kids were young so we have been friends for years. We support one another, and go on family holidays together. I feel very grateful for these genuine friendships that will last a lifetime.

We know better than to listen to what other people have to say because narrowmindedness doesn’t exist within my group of friends’ community. It’s like anywhere, people judge a book by its cover, but you need to read the book to fully understand the characters and the story.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
Personally, none of my days are planned out, I just fly by the seat of my pants mostly. It’s different every day and it kind of revolves around my three kids. They are home from school around 3:30 pm and I am always still trying to paint in my studio as I work quite late until it’s dinner time. I would love to say I put my feet up and read the paper and relax sometimes but there’s a lot that goes into running a busy household and business.

Professionally, I’m a one-woman show. I could work on my business 24 hours and still not get everything done because there is always something on the go. I love to start my day with a chai tea (or two) and answer a few emails. Then I do like to go into my studio and paint while the kids are at school. I go into my little world here. It’s my space and I love it. I often listen to podcasts or audiobooks while I paint. But then I often play nothing and just transcend into silence. I do like being absorbed in my thoughts as I’m so busy crazy in the outside world that sometimes having silence is just bliss…just me and my palate knife surrounded by colourful canvasses.  And sometimes play music (really loud) and I have been known to dance and sing. I can be a bit daggy but I don’t care…no one is watching (hopefully)!

What’s been your journey to becoming an artist? 
I often joke that I have been around the sun a few times… and it means that I have had a few different careers, but it has always been associated with art. I’ve been very connected to art. Even as a young girl, I would spend hours drawing so it was no surprise that I went on to pursue a visual art degree. I had great relationships with my teachers and mentors and that has shaped who I am as an artist today. I started having art exhibitions in the pre-internet days and back then I felt like it was really hard for artists to make a living as I certainly wasn’t making any money as an artist.

I went on to do graphic design studies and was a graphic designer for 15 years. I sang in a band plus worked as a DJ while I was doing this job, there were plenty of creative outlets during this time. My life has always been about creativity, writing songs, playing music, designing and learning about art, but I wasn’t sure where it was all going to head…

Moving from Sydney to the Gold Coast and starting a family meant becoming a full-time Mum so art took a backseat for a while. I had this longing to get back to my roots as an artist and started to see other people sharing their art on IG and it made me just think — I need to go on and do it. About eight years ago it took off and I haven’t looked back since.

How would you describe your work?
My work is made up of highly textural impasto dots or markings made with varying sizes of pallet knives. My pieces often start with layers of dark colours at the bottom and the last layers are usually lighter therefore there’s a sense of depth to each painting. Because the final layers are usually made with a smaller palate knife therefore my paintings from a distance can have a ‘dot’ look about them. When people ask what I’m up to, I have this joke that I say ‘Oh, just dropping dots’ — meaning I’m going to go and paint with my pallet knife.

I’ve always been drawn to bright colours and also have a love for clashing colours and warm colours against cool colours. I find this adds another dimension to my work. I intend that the way I arrange the dots will draw people into the picture. My desire is for my work to make people feel something — colour theory and psychology behind the emotional state when viewing different colours are super interesting to me.

My work is three-dimensional — paintings so textural they cast shadows — like it’s almost a combination of sculpture and painting, but on a canvas. They always look different depending on what time of the day it is and the way they are lit so they have a distinct versatility about them. I’ve even had feedback from my collectors about how much the painting changes and that they see something new every time they look at it.

What has been the biggest opportunity and/or challenge so far for you?
It was my friend Simone founder of the gorgeous Kira & Kira interiors store that first spotted my artwork via Instagram over eight years ago. She loved what I was doing and said that she’d love to sell my art in her store.  I was so excited at this prospect and even more excited when my first artwork was sold only a couple of weeks later. The next artwork was sold only a couple of minutes after I delivered it to K&K and this was the start of something a bit crazy and where it all took off. Artworks would sell almost immediately after I delivered them and I almost couldn’t keep up with the demand. My artwork takes so long to create. So I do have Kira and Kira to thank for my first opportunity of getting my artwork out into the world. We remain the greatest of friends and continue to support one another still to this day.

My second opportunity was back in 2017 when my artwork was featured in Ronnie and Georgia’s award-winning room on The Block. This was huge for me. I think I got over one thousand followers in a day (and more as the show went on) plus my art was featured in the background when all the homes went up for auction. The sale of my prints from that episode went off so I got lots of exposure from a different kind of audience.

I also believe that the best opportunities are often created by you. When I owned an art gallery and held my solo exhibitions and supported other artists it was an incredible opportunity to be a part of the local art community. Through hosting events at the gallery I was able to meet all sorts of people from art lovers to art directors and curators and even rockstars like Amy Shark who came along to my solo exhibition and now owns one of my artworks which hangs in her entranceway here on the Gold Coast…it was a magical time in my life.

Running my gallery wasn’t without its challenges. Everything was self-funded, from the exhibition marketing to the drinks served — I worked hard and paid for it all myself while creating art and supporting others to create their works too.

Just the everyday challenges of running a business on your own there’s a lot of juggling as I have three teens at home, life is very busy but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I find it hard to switch off sometimes but it’s not a chore at all, I love that I can be an artist and do what I love every day — it’s so rewarding to be able to push myself towards my goals.

What’s on the cards for the rest of 2023?
There are plenty of new opportunities for me this year. With my art, I am always wanting to extend and push myself into new creative endeavours. I’d love to combine my art with sculpture and I’m currently working on a piece that from a distance looks completely different on the outside to what it is on the inside…a parody that often I am met with people judging people before they get to know someone.

This year I am working on my solo show to be held around the middle of the year. I’m not sure of the location just yet but it will be somewhere that is unusual and where you would find a ‘normal’ art exhibition. I like the idea of showing work and juxtaposing my art against an obscure location. It will be the complete experience — the location, the invitation, the viewing itself… I’m planning for it to be a huge interactive event.

What is the best piece of business advice that you have ever been given?
It might not necessarily be business advice but it’s important to know who you are and trust your intuition. Whether with artistic expression, collaborations or business decisions, you have to back yourself 100%. Follow your gut. Ultimately you are the one who knows what works and what doesn’t. Take a breath and listen to yourself, you will make the right decision. I’ve had to learn how to trust the process, stay in my lane and just push myself past the fear of something not working.

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café/coffee spot: I love my chai. I don’t drink coffee so chai is my obsession and I am always on the hunt for a great one. Paddock in Burleigh does it well.
Restaurant: OOOOh This is a hard one as there are so many good restaurants in Burleigh now. Can I say three? I would have to Jimmy Wah’s. It’s been around for years but the food is always amazing as well as the service. And Restaurant Labart and also Light Years. These restaurants always serve exceptional food and service and have a great vibe so you feel like you’re getting the whole experience… I rarely go out these days so I like to know that I am going to have the best experience going to any of these places.
Bar or place for a drink: You really can’t beat the views and atmosphere of the Burleigh Pavillion. I know a lot of my male friends go to this next place but I’ve often been known to break the stereotype and meet up with my gal pals for a quick Friday afternoon bevy at The Crabpot. It’s very down-to-earth, friendly and has a local Burleigh vibe and I feel often like a spring chicken here which is nice for a change.
Beach: Nothing beats south Burleigh. All my three kids love to surf, especially my two older boys so you will often find them surfing Burleigh and how lucky are they to be living so close to one of the world’s best surf breaks. I have gone out with them but I just end up sitting on my surfboard watching them at least I’m out in the water.

How do you choose to spend your days off?
I’m lucky if I get a day off to spend doing entirely what I want to do. On those rare occasions, I just go to the beach, maybe for a run or go to pilates. I love to take Millie, my loyal pooch who is always by my side for walks. She also loves the beach and comes swimming out with me. Even if the waves are enormous she will always be right behind me trying to keep up.

The fabulous Amanda Abate is a familiar face in Gold Coast households as the Channel 7 news presenter. Amanda’s love for the Gold Coast city shines through her work and personal life. With a passion for the outdoors, Amanda truly embraces the laid-back coastal lifestyle that makes this place so special. We chatted to Amanda about her journey in journalism and why she loves her job. She also shares a hilarious penguin-napping story that left a lasting impression.

How long have you been a Gold Coast local?
Since I was 12

What do you love the most about the Gold Coast?
The lifestyle, which wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who lives here! It’s the best. We are so lucky to have wonderful green parks everywhere you turn, beautiful clean beaches and fantastic family-friendly attractions. We haven’t had a proper holiday since the start of Covid and I don’t feel like we have missed out in the slightest. There is so much to do here, plus fantastic warm weather. Every weekend feels like we are on a little family adventure and I’m so happy my kids can grow up in the great outdoors.

I’ve always loved this city, but appreciate it even more now that we have a young family. It’s a thriving place, with top-class schools and plenty of opportunities to work and play.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m pretty driven and was definitely focused on my career for much of my adult life. That’s taken a big shift though, since becoming a Mum. My world is now centred around our two babies, and I couldn’t imagine doing life any other way! We like to keep busy and love the outdoors. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my little ones grow, laugh, and experience all of the magic we tend to take for granted as grown-ups.

How did you get started in journalism and what inspired you to become a news presenter and reporter?
TV reporting was a dream of mine since I was a very young girl. I used to watch the news and then host my own pretend segments! I’ve always enjoyed writing and was born curious. I was the kid who would always ask, “but why?”

I studied Journalism at Griffith University straight after finishing high school and got my first media job at 90.9 Sea FM. I used to drive around in the ‘Sea Cruiser’ giving away free chips and chocolate milks. It was a foot in the door and I ended up working my way into the newsroom. That lead to my first gig in TV, at Southern Cross Ten in Canberra, and from there I moved around a bit, to Lismore, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Sydney, before landing my dream job back here, as co-anchor of 7 News Gold Coast.

Can you share any memorable experiences or stories that have stood out to you during your time as a news presenter and reporter?
My first big international story was quite memorable. Does anyone remember ‘Dirk’ the penguin, who was stolen from Sea World? I managed to get an exclusive interview with Dirk’s two captors, who bizarrely agreed to share their story. They were Welsh tourists, who broke into the theme park one night on a drunken expedition and ended up taking the penguin back to their hotel. They had filmed it too – so we had exclusive video of poor Dirk, in a hotel bathtub, plus bonus video of the guys dodging security and going for a nighttime splash with the dolphins. This story went global – before ‘going viral’ was even a thing. Fortunately, it had a happy ending. Dirk was safe and returned to the park. As for his penguin-nappers; they got a dressing down in court but escaped any serious punishment. I recall their lawyer, Bill Potts, even wore a penguin tie for the occasion. You just don’t come across stories like that every day… you couldn’t even make that one up!

What do you love most about your job?
The above story highlights how interesting my job can be! The thrill of the chase can be exciting, but also stressful, and sometimes very upsetting. As journalists, we all have to cover stories we don’t want to. But the media isn’t all doom and gloom. I’ve been lucky enough to cover truly remarkable and heart-warming stories in equal measure. Our Gold Coast News is very focused on the community, and I love discovering all the wonderful things going on in our backyard.

I’m also very lucky that we have a fantastic team. We are friends, not just colleagues, and that makes a big difference to workplace morale.

The other bonus of my job – not going to lie – it is pretty sweet sitting in the hair and makeup chair, considering I pretty much live in my active wear and mum-bun all day every day!

What advice would you give to aspiring journalists who are looking to enter the field?
You have to love it. It’s a demanding job, but rewarding for those who are dedicated. The best thing I did was move around. You learn so much from working in different towns and cities, covering all sorts of colourful and interesting stories. You really earn your stripes in the regions. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for advice. I find the rush rush rush of the current 24-hour news cycle means young journalists are often too busy to ask for guidance. When I started out as a junior reporter, I would seek out regular feedback from the seniors, and always wanted to know how I could improve. So, my advice, find a journo you admire and reach out for some mentoring. You’ll be surprised how many are happy to help.

What are your Gold Coast favourites…
Café/coffee spot: Anywhere with a playground!
Restaurant: As above! We love the restaurants at the Oracle in Broadbeach, as there is a little playground there for our wildlings to run free.
Bar or place for a drink: North Burleigh Surf Club
Beach: Depends which way the wind’s blowing! Any of the sheltered beaches like Burleigh.

How do you choose to spend your days off?
Almost always at a park, with the fam, on our bikes and exploring the city.

Last week, a few Inside Gold Coast team members expressed their love for a fantastic shirt they’d stumbled upon. Sporting the catchy slogan “This Senorita needs a Margarita,” the apparel struck a chord. Upon learning this fabulous creation was the brainchild of Gold Coast locals, we wasted no time reaching out for an interview. Welcome to the vibrant world of Sabbi Clothing, where Jase and Ash blend art, fashion, and a dash of their quirky personalities. Read on to learn about the masterminds of the covetable brand and how the Gold Coast lifestyle heavily influences Sabbi, translating into versatile, fun, and beach-to-bar wearable art.

How long have you been Gold Coast locals?
Jase is a vintage Gold Coast boy and has been here for 30 years. Ash moved over from Perth about 12 years ago, the weather was too hard to resist.

What do you love the most about the Gold Coast?
Jase loves the surf and the laid-back lifestyle. Also, that he can wear Crocs all year round and for every occasion. He’s a water boy so anything on the water is up his alley.

Ash: I love the weather. I’m an early riser, so love that it’s so light so early in the mornings in summer. I also love that you never have to get too dressed up fancy to go anywhere.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Jase has been in fashion since he was a kid. He was born into fashion working for his Dad from age 15. He’s worked all over the world as a buyer. He lived in China for 5 years, 2 of which were spent sleeping on fabric rolls while he and his best friend Billy set up their own factory. He has many crazy stories from those years, one involving a street poo and using his socks as toilet paper. Jase is so laid-back he is horizontal. He lives in Crocs and is big believer in Karma.

Ash: I have nothing exciting to tell you professionally, I studied design and textiles when I graduated school. I designed school uniforms for 3 years where I spent my days looking at polo shirts and check shirts day in and day out. Then I left work to travel Australia in a van for 6 months, moved to the Goldie, then pumped out a set of (VERY unexpected) twins. I’ve always been drawn to anything creative, dodgy dance floors and dogs. Having twins taught me that if you can’t laugh at yourself, then you won’t make it out alive. It also taught me that those Huggies ads were a big fat lie!

What inspired you to start Sabbi?
Jase left a brand he and his family started 10 years ago and took 6 months off to paint. Jase can’t sit still so after 6 months at home we decided to combine our love of fashion and art into one crazy little brand. Fashion seems to be so serious so we wanted to bring some fun back to fashion. We wanted to make clothes that we wanted to wear with a side of our crazy personalities added.

Tell us about the process of creating your unique prints.
Jase finds a theme or a sketch or a colourway. Ash then finds a saying to match. Something funny or positive and then we both work out a print that we think works.

Sometimes this can take half an hour or sometimes Jase (drives Ash crazy) and will spend 3 weeks finetuning one print.

What sets Sabbi apart from other fashion brands?
We guess maybe our artwork. It’s all hand painted on the Gold Coast by us. We don’t buy our prints in. We then oversee the whole process from design to shipping the orders to our customers.

We’d also say maybe showing the craziness that goes on behind the scenes. We both have other jobs, we have 7 year old twins half the time and throw in two dogs, all living under one roof…the roof also happens to be our warehouse.

Sometimes I look around the house and see the twins eating breakfast at the island table next to a HUGE pile of Sabbi returns on the table, boxes of Sabbi stock stacked up around the TV and it sets off my anxiety. Jase just says, “it’s all part of the journey, baby”.

How would you describe the Sabbi community, and what kind of person do you envision wearing your designs?
The Sabbi community are bloody legends! The support we have received is just mind-blowing. We can’t believe that all these people are cheering for two absolute bogans from Palmy. It still blows our minds that so many people are wearing our clothes when we have only just kicked it off.

The kind of people wearing our clothes love art, know how to have a good time and are all about positive vibes…also love a bloody cold margarita. we didn’t realise there were so many margie lovers out there! IGC.

As Gold Coast locals, how has the local culture and lifestyle influenced the style and ethos of Sabbi?
Here on the Gold Coast, it’s all about lifestyle. Going from the beach to the shops to a cheeky margie with the gals, so we wanted to create something you could wear everywhere but also feel like a solid 10 wearing it!

What’s next for Sabbi?
We have big plans baby so strap in!

We have a killer winter range in the works. We have a men’s range dropping soon and we want to continue to make fashion-forward prints and designs that make people feel good.

We want people to love what they’re wearing and we want to promote positive energy through our clothes. If we can make a few people laugh along the way then we are winning.

What are your Gold Coast favourites?
Favourite café: Don’t hate us. but we love a 7/11 coffee. When we were starting up Sabbi we had to sell everything so our budget was TIGHT AS…7/11 coffee grew on us haha. If we aren’t 7/11ing then Well Bread and Pastry in Palmy.
Favourite restaurant: Deli by Peppi…Cheese wheel Wednesdays are something else!
Favourite bar: Scott’s in Palm Beach for a delicious Pet Nat
Favourite beach: Palmy Ave

How do you choose to spend your days off?
Hanging out with the twins, Taking Allen and Merv to the dog park. When we get some alone time we love nothing more than to get a bottle of Pet Nat and sit on the couch in our jammies watching really really sh*t TV (Housewives of Beverly Hills, Southern Charm, Below Deck to name a few) while talking…Jase usually falls asleep and is snoring an hour in.