Photographing Artists at Ashmore Arts and Across the Surf Coast
Ashmore Arts is one of the Surf Coast’s best-kept secrets. A creative hub tucked away in Torquay, Victoria, where painters, sculptors, blacksmiths, designers, and photographers work side by side. It’s where many artists on the Surf Coast aspire to create — and with a year-long waitlist for studios, it’s easy to see why.
I’ve been based at Ashmore for nearly five years. I’m surrounded by some of the region’s most talented artists — from blacksmith masters like Simply Forged, to fine artists like Kirsten Walsh and Lucy Hardie, to bold abstract painters like Rowena Martinich, Erin Reinboth, and Kate Eliza. It’s a space full of energy, colour, and creative momentum.
But it wasn’t until the Surf Coast Arts Trail in August 2024 that I truly felt part of this community.
That weekend was the first time I opened my studio to the public. I shared my work and let people in. But the real shift came when I walked around Ashmore and visited the other studios. After years here, I realised I hardly knew the artists working just a few doors away.
If you’ve visited Ashmore or taken part in the Surf Coast Arts Trail, you’ll understand the energy. It’s a once-a-year event where local artists open their spaces to the public. You can walk through working studios and workshops across the Surf Coast and Bellarine. The next one is 2–3 August 2025 — well worth a visit.
After last year’s trail, I made a quiet commitment to myself. Not just to get to know the artists around me, but to document them. To use my photography to tell their stories — to listen, observe, and capture them doing what they love.
So I started reaching out. I offered portrait sessions in exchange for a piece of their work. It wasn’t planned, just something that felt right. A painting of my son by Kirsten Walsh now hangs in our home. There’s a handmade pot plant holder by Georgiewood. Ceramics by Mayde Concrete. A Jan Juc landscape by Kathryn Junor. Artworks from Mark Trinham and Lorraine Thompson. These swaps have become the heart of this project.
Ashmore Arts is a special place. A quiet, creative hub in Torquay on Victoria’s Surf Coast. Once you’re in, you won’t want to leave. The talent here runs deep — from painters like Lucy Hardie, Rowena Martinich, Kate Eliza, and Erin Reinboth, to large-scale muralist Geoffrey Carran, whose work stretches from intricate bird studies to entire silos.
Photographing them in their studios, watching them work, asking questions, being present — that’s where I’ve found myself most at home creatively. These sessions have reminded me that photography is less about control, more about trust and instinct.
And when you spend a lot of time alone in your own studio, connecting with other creatives is something that grounds you. Being around these artists has quieted that imposter voice that creeps in sometimes.
If you’re a Surf Coast or Bellarine-based artist and want to document your work or studio, I’d love to hear from you.
“Lauren is absolutely the best! She did a photoshoot for my workshop and she has such a way of keeping things at ease. It felt so natural and the photos really reflect that. She has an amazing ability of putting it all together into a cohesive story. We’ll be getting family portraits with her in a couple of weeks and I am looking forward to that! Thanks Loz!”
