Hairdresser swaps the scissors for paintbrushes

A LIFE-LONG love of art has prompted a Lysterfield woman to put her creativity on to canvas.
Mother of three Jodie Cooper says she had always been extremely passionate about art but had only recently made painting her full time vocation.
Creativity runs in Ms Cooper’s family with her mother and sister also talented artists. Her mother, Brenda Hoveix, was resident artist at the Old Cheese Factory in Berwick for two years in the early 1990s.
Ms Cooper, who was a hairdresser for 20 years before becoming a full time artist, is preparing to display her own works at the Cheese Factory, with the launch of her first exhibition this Sunday.
Titled Passions, the exhibition will feature a range of contemporary art, old-world paintings, contemporary nudes and portraits of Australian animals and landscapes.
Ms Cooper said it has always been her dream to have her own art gallery to display and sell her works.
The 36-year-old has also started up her own business from home, called Studio 19, where people can come and buy her canvas paintings.
Ms Cooper has been commissioned to complete various artistic pieces and said she was “over the moon” to be focusing on her art and using her creative skills.
“It was always something I wanted to do and now I am finally doing it,” Ms Cooper said.
The exhibition will be open every day from 10am to 4pm until Sunday 22 October at the Old Cheese Factory, 34 Homestead Road, Berwick.
To make an appointment to view Ms Cooper’s collection at her Lysterfield home, call 0438 556 796.