At the start of 2025, when many artists were tightening their belts, Orange-based painter Sophie Corks made the bold decision to quit her secure government job and pursue art full-time. “I had 12 months of commissions lined up, invitations to three art fairs, and the offer of my first solo exhibition,” she says. “It felt like now or never, and I knew I’d regret it forever if I didn’t try.”
It wasn’t an easy leap. Sophie had built a 20-year career in tourism, first in high-end luxury, then managing the agritourism and culinary portfolio for the NSW Government. But art had always been in the background. “I’ve been painting since I was little,” she says. “After high school I sold my watercolours casually for years. But after becoming a mother, I knew I wanted to become a full-time artist one day.”
Motherhood reshaped her practice. Sophie craved a freer, looser style, so she switched from watercolours to acrylics. “I had terrible anxiety as a new mum, and painting became a way to let go.” Today, her work carries that mix of tenderness, humour and frustration that comes with raising children.
She now paints from a bright studio in the heart of Orange, inside an old building with tall ceilings and large paned windows that flood the space with light. Perched above bustling Lucetta Dining, the studio is filled with stacks of vintage and new design books and retro furniture. It’s a place where Sophie feels connected to the rhythm of town yet hidden away in her own creative world. The studio is open by appointment.
Her upbringing and travels also shape her perspective. Growing up on a sheep farm in Boorowa and playing cricket in Wagga Wagga, then later living in Sydney, Brighton UK and Paris, Sophie now draws on both rural roots and city life to capture the humour, nostalgia and quirks of regional Australia. Her paintings tell stories that reference the whimsical world of parenthood, creating pieces that are both personal and familiar.
A self-confessed design history nerd, Sophie loves weaving in details from Australia’s suburban and country architecture: federation cottages, mid-century shacks, farmhouse verandahs, bullnose roofs, doors and balustrades. Alongside these, she often references fabrics from her own childhood, from Ken Done brights to Laura Ashley florals. “There’s something wonderfully quirky about Australian country towns and suburbs,” she says. “We borrow design elements from all over the world, mix them with our own, and then clash them against the landscape. I love piecing those elements together in a painting.”
The result is a patchwork of stories: backyard cricket, long summers, endless washing, and the changing seasons, all reminding us of the beauty in ordinary moments.
Her debut solo exhibition Home opens this Saturday, September 6, at Our Gallery Milton. The collection is a playful look at the messy, beautiful chaos of life at home, both as a child and as a parent.
“My paintings feel like home, alive with everyday mess, wonder and colour,” Sophie says. “I hope people find their own memories in them. Maybe it’s their mum’s kitchen blinds, the chaos of raising kids, or the joy of sitting down with a cuppa on the verandah.”
