"To achieve anything is to first want it, trust yourself, and finally act on it."
Meet Geraldine, the creative behind many beautiful murals you might have spotted in cafes, hotels, or while scrolling through Instagram. Her work breathes nature's beauty in both art and everyday living. For this edition of PORTRAITS, I'm excited to be able to invite Geraldine to share more about her journey as an artist, a path less conventional than the typical Singaporean dream.
All photos in this post are courtesy of Geraldine, @ochre.home.
01 / Hi Geraldine, could you share more about yourself?
Hi, I’m Geraldine, a botanical artist and interior stylist, content creator, and self-declared interior enthusiast. I live with my husband and 8 year old furchild, Luna, where I first delved into and fell in love with the world of home and interiors, and the rest is history.
My breadth of work revolves fairly equally between creating commissioned art for interiors and spaces, and also creating content on social media as the Ochre Home to document my work, life, and inspirations. Sometimes I get blessed with opportunities to work with brands on art and product collaborations which is extra exciting, and when the stars align and time permits, I take on adhoc residential design and styling projects. I will say that my art style is very nature inspired, bold, vibrant, earthy, yet tastefully colorful, with botanicals usually being the main choice of subject matter. That was also how my moniker ‘Ochre Home’ came about - I wanted a name or word that would fully encompass the visual aesthetic of everything I love, and ochre immediately came to mind. It’s an earth pigment that is identified by its yellow to brown colour, and also one of the core colours used for painting by artists. The intention of the Ochre Home started out as simply as a photo archive of my new home back in 2019 and was never meant to become what it is today, but the circuit breaker in 2020 was actually a timely one that allowed me to properly spend time in the (new) home, enjoy the space, figure out routines, and experiment with things I wouldn’t otherwise had time to do as I was still employed as an art educator back then. Some of these things were to find joy in cooking, decorating my home, painting my very first mural of a single peony outside the master bedroom wall, and sharing all of this on social media. Due to the covid restrictions then, many local brands also turned to looking for homes for product photography and product seeding as avenues for alternative ways of marketing. If there was any turning point in my career I would consider it to be this, as that was what casted spotlight to my home and art, and led to my first mural commission request and styling projects.
I eventually left my job to pursue art and interior creation full time in early 2021 and have never looked back since.
Outside of what I do as the Ochre Home, I enjoy the outdoors and being active. My husband Vincent and I would very much choose a hiking and camping type of overseas trip over a city experience; I guess a lot of this also influenced my artistic style. I also enjoy yoga, and sports like volleyball and softball. What a weekend for us would look like - Vincent and I enjoying music while having brunch at home together, going for a joy ride on our motorcycles (I recently started riding!), and exploring pet-friendly spots in Singapore with Luna.
02 / Your art never fails to amaze us. Could you walk us through your creative process? Also, do you have any rituals or must-haves when you're working?
Thank you!
Planning the day ahead is important to me, and I would plan out in my calendar which days I would like to set aside for art making (if it’s at home) and avoid scheduling anything else in the same day so that I have zero distractions, a good amount of time in the day, and am in the right headspace when i’m working.
I always start by browsing inspiration sources beforehand. Even if I don’t have a specific project that i’m planning for, if I see something inspiring when i’m out, be it interesting light and shadow play, architectural detail, or plant textures, I would snap photos and keep those thoughts in my ‘idea bank’. It definitely helps to build on inspirations when planning a new project than starting from a blank slate. For mural projects, they are physically tiring so I make sure to get a good amount of sleep (8 hours min) and always pack my materials the night before to avoid any morning rush and anxiety; once again, feeling physically good and being in the right head space is extremely important.
During art making, I always put on upbeat music that keeps me pumped and going,. My choices are always rock music with strong beats and rhythm.
03 / As someone who shares your art and life online, how do you navigate the pressures of social media and staying visible without burning out?
This is honestly something that I’ve been trying to figure out as well; there are definitely ups and downs being on this social media journey, and at times I do feel that I struggle to switch off due to work expectations despite knowing I may need a break.
How I try to strike a balance is to have a rough plan of when and how frequent I share content - this looks something like 2-3 posts a week, and at least 1 story everyday. Posts are generally a little more thought out and takes time putting together, so they alternate between a lifestyle piece, or my art and interior showcases, while stories are a lot more casual and organic, hence the higher frequency and ease of sharing. On days that I feel a little exhausted from content-heavy sharing and want to take a step back, I go back to the basics - a simple, fuss free photo of what I love, be it a moment with Luna, or how beautiful evening light filters into the living room.
I also make it a point to disconnect where possible; no phone usage during meal times, walks with Luna, and during workout sessions. These are times when I want to be fully present and enjoy what I am doing in the moment. I think creating pockets of time away from social media and removing the feeling of needing to update the world on what I'm doing keeps me sane and reminds me to be grounded.
It’s also important for me to dedicate off days and breaks for myself, especially when no one is there to tell me when my holiday is.
04 / Is there a common misconception about your line of work that you've heard one too many times, we'd love to set the record straight!
I get a lot of comments on how people admire my position as a freelance/self-employed creative, associating my work now with almost that of a retiree or someone who doesn’t need to ‘work’ just because the 9-5 is out of the equation. But on the contrary, time management as a freelancer can be extremely tricky where there’s little distinction between work and rest, weekdays and weekends, workdays and holidays. Everyday is a workday, and when not properly managed a can quickly lead to burnout, which was something I experienced years ago when i first transited from my full time employment to a freelancer. The flip side is also true, where a great deal of discipline is required to hold yourself accountable to completing tasks set by yourself and avoid going down the slippery slope of procrastination.
Though projects and exciting new content don’t happen everyday or week, the remaining periods of seemingly ‘free time’ are mostly spent on work behind the scenes - preparation work for art commissions, proposals and administrative work, content planning and creation, and attending meets and events to widen my repertoire of experiences.
Another common misconception is that I am only able to create one type of style in my art making. Understandably so, since I pride myself as a botanical artist, but it is actually a strategic move on my part to be introduced and recognised this way, having an artistic niche for easy association, rather than having an unclear stylistic narrative to my body of work. With the relevant art techniques and skills, almost anything can be created with practice.
05 / Is there a piece of content or artwork you've created that surprised you? Either in how it turned out or how people responded to it.
The outcome of abstract artwork always surprises me; I usually dive into abstract painting only with some rough idea and inspirations in mind, but never any visualisations of the end product. After all, the creation of abstract art is always about the process and exploration, eventually leading to the final outcome. My painting process always goes through a trajectory - the initial mess, some satisfactory layering and progress, the big dip (I call it the ugly stage) where the painting looks far from beautiful and I start to doubt myself and where it’s going, the breakthrough (persevering and continuing on my intended path despite feeling discouraged), and the beautiful relief (when I step back and realise that everything came together nicely in the end), beating the urge to add more (knowing when to stop).
A more concrete example would be a recent ceiling mural I did for an upcoming hotel suite - The request was something that was a little different from my usual botanical requests; a fully painted dusky and cloudy sky, with a specific request life-sized bay laurel leave shrubs framing the ceiling. It was out of my comfort zone with everything about the commission being a first for me - my first ceiling painting, first bay laurel request (and there were little close up references that I could find online), and first sky painting. The amazing thing was that during a trip in USA right before I was scheduled to start the commission, I chanced upon rows and rows of wild bay laurel bushes on a hike in Yosemite, which gave me invaluable resources of samples and first hand photographs that I took back with me as references for the painting. I knew it was challenging, but the overall result turned out better than I had expected and I felt immensely proud that I had pulled it off.
06 / What does a nourishing day look like for you, one where you feel fulfilled yet at ease?
I’m a creature of habit so I appreciate a planned day; typically my stay home days look something like this - I start my mornings with an unrushed and hearty brunch and a cup of hot english breakfast tea, check for email and message updates. By noon I spend some time with Luna for her lunchtime, get on with either art prep work, painting or content making, take a coffee break (a homemade latte) by evening, prep dinner, take Luna for a walk post-dinner, do my own workout by late night, slow shower + self care and wind down before turning in for the night. I feel most fulfilled when I checked off what I had planned to do for the day, even if it’s non-work related plans like cooking or working out. I enjoy a slow wind down post-shower, where I indulge a little in self care routines like having a hot cup of tea while applying my skin and hair care while slow gentle music is playing in the background.
07 / Do you have any personal routines or grounding practices to help you stay balanced, especially while juggling multiple creative roles?
Investing time in pursuing my personal activities means a lot to me amidst lots of time spent on social media and commissioning work. i’ve been practicing yoga once or twice weekly for 8 years, and i appreciate the quiet focus away from distractions and reflective moments it gives me during each session. Finding and building a strong sense of self offline is something I prioritise in my daily life, especially when my work constantly revolves around my online persona. Apart from yoga, I try to put in time and initiative in exploring new interests - snow boarding, getting my bike license, trying new recipes, and picking up padel of late.
Starting and ending the day with a cup of tea is also a simple joy and routine that I look forward to.
08 / You've experienced Eartha — any favourites that resonated with you or became part of your self-care ritual?
I’ve been using Eartha products since they were still SLOW RITUALS! That says a lot. Some of my staples are Paloma Hair Oil as daily nourishment for my hair post-wash, and a couple of spritz of the Elysium Mood Spray (discontinued) on the bedding before I sleep. I like both for their refreshing and naturally invigorating scents.
09 / Do you have a go-to quote or mantra?
Ask, believe, receive. I have lived by this quote since my teens when a friend first shared this quote with me, and it has resonated with me ever since. To achieve anything is to first want it, trust yourself, and finally act on it.
10 / What's one thing about the creative industry that you wish you knew at the start?
I would say, nothing. If I had known how things beforehand or how situations would pan out, I may have taken a different course of action that would have led me to a very different place from where I am today. It may have been for the better to be able to predict the future, but I still believe in the beauty of discovery and the anticipation of the unknown, finding courage and strength through struggles and failures. The creative industry is exactly so because of continued innovation and creating fresh ideas, and if anyone already knew what was next, there would not be any trail blazers. Let’s continue to keep it a mystery.
