Art that Pops! with Ilana McBain
From the snow-covered streets of Minsk, Belarus to the sandy shores of Noosa, our cover artist’s journey is a powerful tapestry of resilience, reinvention, and artistic passion. Jodie Cameron explores their unique intersection of visual art and storytelling…
I’ve always believed in the power of being in the right place at the right time – and that couldn’t ring more true in the discovery of this edition’s cover artist, Ilana McBain. After spotting a flyer on the wall of my local cafe: “Why Does My Partner Cheat (and How to Deal With It)” – a bold title on a sensitive subject – I curiously searched the author online, and stumbled into a vibrant world of digital art, poetry, and purpose. That serendipitous encounter led to this full circle moment – sitting opposite Ilana: artist, author and activist, whose smile is as big as her ideas and heart.
A contemporary pop artist, poet, educator and creative visionary, Ilana lives an authentic life driven by freedom and peace. Her works explore themes of human connection, nature, and self-expression, blending pop art aesthetics with rich, emotive storytelling.
Born in Belarus in 1966 into a family shaped by war and survival, Ilana’s early years were marked by challenge and warmth; a premature birth and childhood health issues setting the tone for a life of determination.
When Ilana was young, her family emigrated to Israel, seeking freedom and opportunity in the small town of Nahariya. It was here Ilana’s love for art took root as she found tracing, drawing and creating as both an act of expression and escape.
“The journey wasn’t easy, but my father’s persistent visits to the Russian immigration office eventually permitted us to go. So, at the age of 33, 26, and five, we embarked on a life-changing adventure,” Ilana shared. “With all the horrible things going on in my home country, it’s not about taking sides – what matters is peace for everyone so we can live side by side and raise children safely. Freedom is not chaos. Chaos is not control. Freedom is control, the total control over oneself.”
A move to Australia in her teens sparked a bold new chapter. Independent and driven, Ilana eventually earned a place at the Sydney Institute of the Arts but the rigid academic structure clashed with her creative spirit.
“I took a year off, intending to return, but that never materialised,” Ilana recalled. “Instead, I immersed myself in painting, poetry, fashion design, and community projects, building a life where art became both vocation and voice.”
Since 2004, Ilana, her husband and two daughters have called the Sunshine Coast home. Their calm coastal existence fuelling Ilana’s creative output – work that speaks to strength, vulnerability, and beauty. Through visual art or written word, her purpose is clear: to live meaningfully, connect deeply, and inspire others to find light through creativity.
“Australia is the best place on earth, and the Sunshine Coast is so special,” she says. “I’ll always be a city girl but the Coast offers true balance. I want my art and books to be bought everywhere and I don’t need to go anywhere to achieve that. I am exactly where I am meant to be.”
Ilana’s two creative worlds – digital art and writing – are deeply intertwined. During the pandemic, the creative floodgates opened after her Coolum bar, restaurant and artspace, Foxy on Coolum, was forced into a lull. With time to reflect, her poetry began flowing – born from personal transformation.
“I never considered myself a writer, I told anyone who asked that I was an artist, but my thoughts started to turn into poetry,” Ilana explained. “That space between getting an idea and writing a poem can be a massive chasm, but it was just pouring out of me. So, I decided to make art my business.”
It took three years to act on, but writing helped shift Ilana’s thinking and eventually guided her back to visual art.
Her first book, To Be a Happy Cat, began as an experiment in pairing poetry with illustration with Ilana transforming cat photos taken by her daughter into playful digital art.
Ilana’s books explore emotional growth and social expectations in a voice that’s both gentle and confronting. Her upcoming title, What will my life look like without anxiety? which tackles anxiety in a similar style – poetic, accessible, and grounded in lived experience.
“We’re often too afraid of what we might lose, not what we might gain,” she says. “Why not teach our kids this from day one and give them the right information to make the right choices.”
Ilana’s work is bold, commercial, and packed with personality, like our summer cover, Girl Eating Ice Cream on the Beach, captures the intensity and joy of a Queensland summer so vividly, you can almost feel the coldness of the ice cream dripping down her arm.
Her art practice remains personal and political, a platform for connection, empowerment, and peace.
“I’ve always loved pop art, and I love putting things together that look sharp and involve text – it’s playful and thought-provoking,” she says. “I don’t believe vulnerability is a weakness, it’s a strength because when I choose to offer it, I’m in control of it.”
From launching community collectives in Yaroomba to supporting DV Safe Phone projects, Ilana’s work stretches far beyond her iPad. She runs mobile workshops through her Sunshine Coast Creative Academy and collaborates with local businesses to wholesale her work including Uncle George in Hastings Street, Noosa.
So, what’s next for Ilana McBain?
“World domination,” she laughs. “But seriously: more art, more books, and more human connection.”
Ilana’s journey from Belarus to Israel to Australia, through hardship and reinvention, gives her work a rare bedrock of empathy. Her story is far from finished. Tethering bold aesthetics to human vulnerability, Ilana offers a voice that is not a silent witness; she is a translator of sensation, of instability, hope, aching, and of light. And she invites us, as readers and viewers, to pause, to lean in, and to see.
Follow Ilana’s purposeful journey @ilanamcbain_artist or @ilanamcbain_author
Purchase her art or visit www.ilanamcbain.com
