Peggy Zephyr knew she was an artist from the age of six. As the youngest of five children, privacy was rare – until she commandeered the airing cupboard. It was there she’d draw on the walls and make monster sculptures from her mum’s fabric scraps. Creativity was highly valued within those family walls, and since leaving home at 16, Peggy has pursued a life of art that pushes boundaries, reveals hidden symbolism and, above all, encourages play.

Peggy is a multidisciplinary artist whose deceptively simple work ‘fizzes on the canvas and swindles the eye’. As she shifts between the practices of painting and tufting, she’s consistently obsessed with colour, inspired by Mother Nature and Willy Wonka and is serious about art not being serious. While her practice today follows in the footsteps of the Californian 1960s hard-edge painting movement and the ancient art of textile weaving, her relationship with art began in a small airing cupboard in 1970s England. Here’s how her travels from Tamworth (UK), to her home at Korora Bay, Coffs Harbour, unfolded…

1978 – Tamworth, Staffordshire, England

While Peggy will be the first to tell you she got out of Tamworth as quickly as possible, fond memories were formed in the family’s humble home.

“We didn’t have a lot of money, but there were loads of us kids – so you didn’t get much privacy. I commandeered the little airing cupboard when I was six, it was a bit Harry Potter of me. I drew all over the walls in there and, because my mum sewed our clothes, there were always fabric scraps lying around. I’d gather them up, take them into the cupboard and make soft sculptures, usually monsters. Making things and drawing was how I expressed myself – in our family it was all about being different and learning how to express yourself creatively. That’s what was valued in our home.”

1989-1991 – Burton College, Burton upon Trent, England

True to her word, Peggy flew the coop as early as she possibly could. At just 16, she moved to Burton upon Trent to study a foundation art course.

“It was the kind of course where you do a little bit of everything – ceramics and photography, textiles and design, graphics and painting. It gives you the chance to choose your favourite medium before heading off to university. I was surrounded by filmmakers and artists, photographers and designers. It was just this huge, forward-thinking, melting pot – an incredible experience.”

1992-1994 – Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester, England

Peggy went on to choose a Fine Arts Textile course at Manchester Polytechnic. But she quickly realised it wasn’t for her.

“I wasn’t happy and it just wasn’t the city for me. The course I had chosen wasn’t free enough, it wasn’t creative enough. Having come from Burton, where we had such creative freedom and amazing tutors, it was too restrictive and project based. I didn’t feel like I was developing there, so I dropped out and went to London.”

1994-2003 – The East End, London, England

It was in London’s East End that Peggy found her artistic groove again – while working multiple jobs to keep her head above water.

“It was really rough around there, so you could rent somewhere cheaply. I waited tables, sold ice creams at a theme park, worked at a bar, cleaned hotel rooms – all while painting in my spare time. It was menial stuff, but it was such a fantastic place to be in my twenties. I was always surrounded by creative people and eventually got picked up by an artist agent, so some more regular work started coming in from there. That’s when I decided to visit Australia for a holiday and my art changed dramatically.”

2003-2009 – Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia

From the moment Peggy got off the plane, she felt an instant sense of home and fell in love with Sydney immediately.

“I used to say life in England was like living inside a ping pong ball. The skies over there are grey 80 per cent of the time, so when I arrived in Australia it was like the colour volume had been turned up. My work changed radically – because of the light, the lifestyle, being out in nature and beside the ocean. I started using a completely different palette, shifting to very bright colours, and began exploring storytelling through portraiture. I had a couple of shows in small galleries and sold a few pieces along the way. But it wasn’t until I started illustrating for Harper’s BAZAAR that I really found my feet.”

2006-2009 – Melvin & Doyle and Harper’s BAZAAR, Sydney, Australia

After a few years in Sydney, Peggy started working for Melvin & Doyle, a store on Paddington’s William Street that sourced high-end European vintage pieces for designers like Sass & Bide, Alice McCall and Pip Edwards of P.E Nation. It was here she met Jamie Huckbody, the first male editor of Harper’s BAZAAR.

“We became great friends and still are to this day – he’s a mentor to me, too. Back then he took a leap of faith and gave me the chance to illustrate for Harper’s. He wanted to bring my vibe to the pages – something new, different and modern. I did a couple of covers, as well as a regular internal feature, and went on to get other work from there, including a gig for Donna Hay. It was such an incredible time and one I’m hugely grateful for. The best part was it all came through word of mouth – Instagram wasn’t a thing back then!”

2009-2013 – London, England

While she was undoubtedly having the time of her life in the land down under, Peggy was ready to return to London. She continued working remotely for Harper’s BAZAAR and secured a role as a fashion stylist.

“The role with Harper’s was keeping my head above water – then my photographer friend Jason Tozer invited me to come and do some styling for his shoots. It went well, not only because I secured a stylist role for Sony where I worked on some very cool music shoots and video games, but also because Jason’s now my husband. We were surrounded by so many incredibly creative, talented people and it was the first time in my life I was earning proper money. I could buy a coffee and a muffin and not have to worry about it. Amazing, right?!”

2014-2016 – All over Australia, on a motorbike

As incredible as those London days were, Oz was calling and Peggy knew it was time to come ‘home’. But this time, she had Jason by her side… or in front of her… on a motorbike.

“Yep, we brought our motorbike out with us and travelled around Australia for two and a half years. We’d rented out our London apartment and I sold my property in Windsor, so we were very lucky and had time on our side. I packed my pannier full of sketchbooks and we took to the road. I might have cried when I realised I had zero room for my usual library of clothes, but it was a very freeing experience. We house-sat along the way and took the time to carefully plan our next move – that’s when we came to Coffs.”

2016 – Korora Bay, Coffs Harbour

After 2.5 years on the road, Peggy wanted to start painting again and both her and Jason were drawn to the sunshine-bathed waters of Korora Bay.

“We bought our house here in Korora and haven’t looked back since. I’ve converted the whole ground floor into my studio, which overlooks the ocean. I lose hours, shifting between two gears – the slower, meditative nature of painting and the more labour-intensive but forgiving practice of tufting. I don’t listen to music when I’m working, all I need is the sound of the waves and the birds. I’m still a very private person when it comes to my art, people can’t just walk in – even Jason has a train whistle he blows to let me know he’s coming downstairs. I don’t want people knowing what I’m creating until I’m ready to share it with the world. I guess you could say it’s like I’m still in that airing cupboard, my very own quiet sanctuary.”

The award-winning work of Peggy Zephyr

Mosman Art Prize Finalist 2022.
Basil Sellers Art Prize 2022.
National Still Life Award Finalist and People’s Choice Winner 2021.

These are just some of the awards Peggy’s snapped up, as her work rubs shoulders with the likes of Ken Done and Wendy Sharpe. This year, she continues to push the creative envelope in the opening show for Coffs Harbour’s Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) called Please Walk on the Grass.

In this solo exhibition, Peggy continues to incorporate bold colours, hidden symbolism and an element of play as she invites people to engage with the artwork in a way you’ll have to discover for yourself when viewing the show in person.

“That one’s a secret to discover within the gallery, but it encourages the element of play I’m so passionate about with my art,” says Peggy.

“Galleries can be such serious spaces, people tend to speak in an elitist language, whispering in front of the artworks you’re not allowed to touch. I’m interested in breaking through that and saying ‘this is just art, this should be playful’. There’s a place for serious subjects too, of course, but I want my work to feel inclusive, not intimidating, and you shouldn’t need an art history degree to understand what’s hanging on the wall in front of you. It’s also disruptive and a bit cheeky, and I’m all about that.”

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