About The Artist

Hayley Kennedy

Born in Melbourne and growing up in the eastern suburbs, Hayley studied Visual Arts/Education at Melbourne University. With a keen interest in travel, Hayley’s journey’s took her across Europe, where she discovered her passion for Islamic artworks. Particularly taken with islamic inspired architecture she travelled to Spain to see the Alhambra and fell in love with the beauty of symmetry and repetition of the artwork. This coupled with sometimes seemingly chaotic patterns within the artworks, inspired Hayley to study it more closely. Longing for home (homesick), Hayley experimented with incorporating native flora and fauna into her inspired artwork incorporating the colours and feelings of Australia. 

Upon returning home, Hayley travelled to Central Australia where she lived and worked for 12 months. Absorbing as much of the life, colour, culture and natural beauty, this is where the first series of her work was created (Alice Springs Series).

Hayley worked as a qualified special needs teacher for over 18 years, and spent a good number of those years as an art teacher. Having spent 13 years in Gippsland, Victoria, she now lives surrounded by rainforest and native fauna and flora in the Byron Bay Hinterland with her husband, two beautiful sons and three dogs.