Artable founder and teacher Gillian Grove works behind the scenes to bring you the best art classes, workshops & travel experiences in Australia. Gillian is renowned for her ability to work in a range of mediums and styles and is highly sought after teacher for beginners. 

Gillian has been a practicing artist for over 20 years and is passionate about making art available to everyone, both adults and children, regardless of what skill level they possess. Gillian holds a strength in being able to break down complex concepts so that they are easily understood and works behind the scenes to design classes that teach the 'how to' in a fun and relaxed environment. Gillian is the ultimate teacher for beginners nervous about getting started in art.

Warwick artist Louise Tait is the driving force behind Studio Style Inside Out. An evolving space where Louise has been teaching creative workshops for the past three years. Currently studying a Bachelor of Creative Arts, Visual Arts at USQ, Louise is also an established mural artist and has murals in Allora, Warwick, and Stanthorpe and has sold artworks both nationally and internationally. Louise delivers group workshops in watercolour, mosaic, clay hand building, macramé, acrylic paintings and pouring. plus many more, along with hosting guest artists and professional crafters. She firmly believes that being creative is good for the soul and welcomes newcomers to art, as being creative has proven health benefits - ART is for EVERYONE.

John Lovett is an Australian artist working in oils, watercolor and mixed media. Since commencing his career John has held over thirty five solo exhibitions and taken part in many joint ones. John’s work is represented in private and corporate collections in Australia, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and USA. John’s passion for his work and his open easy approach to teaching make his books, DVD’s and workshops thoroughly enjoyable, extremely informative and always very popular. His articles are regularly featured in “International Artist” magazine. 

Cherry hood is an Archibald Prize winner who has artworks in many important Australian art collections, including the Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Australia, Artbank, and several regional art galleries. Cherry has become well known for her haunting, large-scale images of faces.

As viewers, visiting a Cherry Hood exhibition is a voyeuristic experience. The huge eyed faces follow you around the exhibition space, drinking you in and forcing you to maintain eye contact. You feel as though you have intruded on quiet thoughts, perhaps on a dark moment recalled. There are no smiles, and the eyes have a bruised outlook, too knowledgeable for their brief years.

Cherry Hood attained a Master of Visual Art at Sydney College of the Arts.

Her thesis investigated gender politics in art and cultural mores and taboos surrounding the representation of the male body. After high school Hood attended art school at St George Tech for two years without finishing her diploma, she then went to Italy for six months to study Sculpture and Italian language. Hood was inspired by her teacher at St George, the famous sculptor Bert Flugelman.

Hood returned to art education as a mature age student in 1991 and spent 3 years studying painting at the National Art School, she continued her study at Sydney College of the Arts (University of Sydney) and attained her Undergraduate and Honours Degrees before attaining her Masters of Visual Art.

Hood continues to be passionate about art education often describing her experience at Art School as a “gift”. She tries to give back a little by teaching and conducts workshops and gallery talks.

During her 20-year painting career Hood has had countless solo exhibitions and is often included in group and theme exhibitions at museums and institutions. Hood has exhibited in the galleries which represent her: Tim Olsen Gallery in Sydney, Heiser Gallery in Brisbane, Turner Gallery in Perth and Greenaway Gallery in Adelaide.

Hood has also had solo shows in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver and Zurich. Her works are in many private collections in Australia and overseas and many of the State Museum Galleries in Australia have collected her works. Her works are very well represented in major corporate collections.

Hood works in the unlikely medium of watercolour, her paintings are most frequently anonymous composite portraits. Since her move to the Southern Tablelands of NSW Hood has embraced the landscape and sometimes incorporates it into her works.

Hood was the winner of the 2002 Archibald Prize, the most prestigious painting award in Australia, with her portrait of the young pianist Simon Tedeschi. Hood was one of seven women winners in the long history of the award. Hood had been a finalist the year before with her very first entry in Archibald Prize. The work -a watercolour on paper -of her brother in law the artist Matthÿs Gerber was remarkably the first watercolour on paper to be hung in the Archibald. Later Hood painted David Helfgott, Ben Quilty and in 2010 Michael Zavros which were also hung as finalist works.

Clair Bremner is a professional artist based in the Yarra Valley near Melbourne. She has been working as a full time artist for the past four years creating abstract expressionist landscape paintings and expressive florals in acrylic. Clair is a largely self taught artist but did complete a Diploma of Visual Art in 2004.  She is primarily inspired by nature and the natural tangle of vegetation near her home in the bush.

She is represented by Bright Art Licensing and has created artwork for companies such as Hallmark, Andrew McMeel Publishing, Soho Myriad and Victorian Racing. Her artwork has been featured in Home Beautiful, Art Edit Magazine and on the cover of Breathe Magazine and can be purchased from a few select galleries around Australia. Clair has been teaching acrylic workshops for the last two years in her studio and in other locations around Melbourne and is looking forward to bringing her class to Queensland. 

Natalie Martin is an artist and graphic designer based on the Surf Coast, Victoria. She likes to get her hands dirty and bring a little joy (and colour!) to the every day.

Outdoors with two feet on the ground, this is her happy place. Nothing inspires her more than soaking up some sunshine and enjoying her natural surroundings.

Natalie looks at the beauty in life’s ordinary moments. Those things in your natural environment that pass you by every day, right under your nose. The things you only notice when you slow down and take a breath. The details, the movement, the colours.

Besides painting, a few of her favourite things are people watching, licorice, surfing, traveling and daydreaming.

Herman Pekel was born to Dutch parents in Melbourne, Victoria in 1956.

Hobie Porter brings his incredible eye for detail and realism to teach oil painting at Artable to all levels of experience. Hobie is a contemporary landscape painter who values place and environment. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) with Honours and a Graduate Diploma of Education having taught at both TAFE and University level.

Hobie holds vast knowledge around the technical skill of painting and is the ideal teacher for those wanting to achieve realism using oils and take their artworks to the next level. Hobie has been exhibiting professionaly since 2004 and is represented by ArtHouse Gallery, Sydney and his work is collected by multiple public galleries nationwide.

A creative and rural upbringing has created an ongoing fixation with the colour, composition and natural beauty of the Australian Landscape.

This has proved to be a very strong base for the subject treatment in all of my work. I am consistently drawn to the freedom of mark making and love of texture and use this as an approach to form a large part of the artistic process in both my printmaking and painting. To take a simple or insignificant scene from my natural surroundings and present it artistically in a way that gives it relevance and appeal teaches me to stop and appreciate every little aspect of nature. My joy is in the creativity.....my endeavour is to share it.

"God made the country Man made the town" - William Cowper

Australian born, Heidi Willis is an entirely self-taught Natural History watercolour artist. Her work intricately illustrates our native and exotic plants, flowers, fruits and seed capsules, whilst her powerful & distinctive portraits of our spectacular bird life offers viewers an insight into the world as she experiences it. Painting full-time since 2003, Heidi quickly established herself as one of Australia’s emerging artistic talents. Her reputation as a leading natural history, wildlife and botanical artist is well established and her meticulous and intricate studies of botany and birds can be found in significant public and private collections around the world.

Heidi’s work has featured in prominent national and international exhibitions over her career. Highlights include The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize six times to date, winning a Highly Commended award in the Works on Paper section in 2014 resulting in her work going on tour with the prize winning entries. Her major work St Vincent’s Amazons and Cannonball Tree has just been selected as a finalist again for the 2016 exhibition. The Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize is one of Australia’s most prestigious and richest art competitions held by the South Australian Natural History Museum. Several of her works have been showcased as a finalist at the Focus On Nature exhibitions, a leading international Natural History Art Prize held in the New York State Museum. Her work has also featured and won awards in both Botanica and The Margaret Flockton Award, hosted by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney.

Her work is held in the permanent collection at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation PA, USA and her work has also been included in the highly regarded Shirley Sherwood Collection. Her work has also been featured in several publications, most significantly Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Craft Arts Magazine, Colophon, SA Life, International Artist Magazine and Artist’s Palette Magazine multiple times over, with her work featured on the front cover of Artist’s Palette issue 123. In 2015 she was taken on by Australian Geographic as a freelance botanical illustrator where her work features in the Nature Watch section of the magazine.

Richard Claremont is an Australian artist who was born in 1965 in Sydney. He attended a Steiner School, which placed a great emphasis on creativity and the development of the child. There were lessons about the Norse myths, ancient civilisations and old folk tales. It was a rich environment which developed a love of drawing with crayons and painting in watercolour.

Richard also discovered a love of mechanical things. “I would draw endless conveyor belts and pie-making machines with little attendants – there was something about factory automation which appealed to me, the idea that we were all somehow tiny cogs in a huge machine”.

By the time Richard reached high school, his interest in art and English language seemed to be pointing him in the direction of graphic design and advertising. In 1980 he worked at Artflow Graphics in Sydney where he had the opportunity to create by hand some press-ready artwork. At this time It seemed to him that the only way to make a career from art was to work at a commercial art studio.

However, in 1982 when Richard completed his HSC, he made the decision to study Visual Arts instead of Graphic Design. From 1983-1985 he completed a degree at Sydney College of the Arts, majoring in painting. His work from this time is semi-abstract, continuing the theme of mythology and man’s complex relationship to the world.

In 1988, to supplement his income, Richard became a postman. He finds the time spent delivering the mail to be a good opportunity to think and plan his next painting. Over the last 15 years, Richard has had several exhibitions of his work in both Wollongong and Sydney. His painting from this time examines the impact of mining on the Australian landscape, and much of this work is now on permanent display at Bluescope Steel Visitors Centre at Port Kembla. His interest in painting machinery has now extended to a love of painting classic cars.

Richard is happily married and lives in Shellharbour with a cat, a chicken and a disabled budgie.

I was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1966. I grew up in semi-rural surrounds which gave me an appreciation for nature and the outdoors, enjoying every opportunity I’ve been given to study and appreciate its nuances. In 1985 I had a brief stint as a picture framer which I now look back upon as an excellent introduction to the art world as a young adult.

After giving me, all the necessary fundamentals required in becoming an artist my father Eric encouraged and guided my early artistic direction.

I have long believed “It’s not what you paint but how you paint it”. With this in the fore-front of my mind I’ve dedicated myself to developing my skills to the highest level possible. I’m aiming to tell a visual story with clarity and sophistication but I am also driven to distort and abstract the image as much as possible while still maintaining a realistic image. I am deeply honoured to be able to regularly hold exhibitions, tutoring appointments, judging and demonstrations in Australia and abroad. To carry the tag as quoted "one of Australia’s finest Impressionist painters" is a great personal achievement.

My first Solo Exhibition at age of 24 was a sell-out, a very encouraging sign to launch my career. Since then I have held numerous Solo and Joint Exhibitions. I have also written articles in Australia, United States, South Africa & International Artist Magazine's. I am the author of 2 books "Creating Impressionist Landscape in Oil" - 2001 & "Impressionist Painting Made Easy" - 2009. These books and my DVD's are both sought after by collectors, artists and libraries nationally and internationally.

My aim is to share my knowledge and joy of painting with like-minded artist’s world-wide. Throughout my career I have been blessed to be able to share this wonderful artistic journey with my wife and 2 sons.

This journey is ongoing and I look forward to each time I return to my easel.

Brisbane-based artist Kim Carter specialises in high-realism pet portraits. Her love of animals shines through Kim's portraits and she has a growing social media following. Kim's work is highly sought after with a current wait list of more than 6 months to secure one of her customised portraits.

Join Kim's workshops to understand colour pencil technique and to gather a thorough knowledge of shading principles for realism.

Manuela has been a practising artist and teacher for more than thirty years working and exhibiting in the UK, Spain, and Australia. Her field of interest is life drawing and portraiture using oil or charcoal. Recently, she has won first prize for the 2016 Master Skill Building Challenge at Watts Atelier. In 2017 Manuela fulfilled a lifelong dream to study in Italy and attended the Florence Academy of Art allowing her to work with artists trained in the classical skills that Italy is renowned for. Her initial training was at Sheffield Hallam University (UK) where she studied a Fine Art BA Hons course and it is there that she discovered a passion for working with figurative art.

“Every time I go to Europe or attend an amazing course here, I am itching to get back to my students and share what I have learnt. I believe it is part of an artist’s life to “pass it on”. There is so much amazing knowledge out there that shouldn’t get lost or forgotten. It needs to be shared.”

Born in New Zealand, Michelle moved to Australia in 1985. She has been working as a professional artist since 1996 and has studied both in Australia and the UK. She has twice represented Australia at the Inter-Continental Biennale of Small Graphics and been shortlisted for many major art prizes including the Jacaranda Drawing Prize 2014, Portia Geach Art Award, (Highly Commended), The Bendigo Drawing Prize, The Wilson Art Award, The Northern River's Portrait Prize and the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize. She has also illustrated 3 children's books and was shortlisted for the CBCA 2009 Crichton Award for Best New Illustrator. Michelle lives and works in a converted church near the coast in rural Australia.

Denise Scott's passion for watercolour is proof it is never too late to start learning! After starting as a beginner a little later in life, Denise went from not being able to "draw a straight line" to cultivating her love for watercolour into a full time passion. She has been a long adored and trusted teacher with Artable and is the perfect teacher for beginners to the medium. 

Denise trained in the art of pure watercolour and passes these skills along with a deep seated belief that 'anyone can learn' onto her students. Denise's stunning artworks hang in private collections nationally and her love of travel has allowed her to hone her painting skills both in Australia and overseas.

Jenni was born in Kerang Victoria and lived and was educated in Bendigo where her interest in oil painting began viewing the great Australian masters at the Bendigo Regional Art Gallery thus starting a long life love affair of viewing galleries Australia wide. Her early works were in traditional oils depicting the subjects of the Gold Mining areas and continuing this style of painting for many years. After marriage and family with husbands work to areas such as Mackay, Isisford, Cardwell, Augathella and Clifton. While living in these isolated areas she continued to do some painting and was a member of The Flying Art School for many years travelling hundreds of kilometers to designated centers. Jenni is basically self taught and is constantly improving her skills by attending other artists workshops, e.g McGregor Summer Schools Toowoomba, Mitchell Summer School’s Bathurst and Clifton Art workshops regularly. Jenni is currently living in Murrumba Downs at North Brisbane. Jenni achieves a realistic expression in her creative freestyle painting leaving the viewer free to excise their own imagination. These paintings have an appealing sense of colour, freedom and movement with subjects close to nature. Jenni’ also a member of “Nature in the Raw” with works going in exhibitions all over Queensland and in 2004 the Bristol Zoo Gardens in U.K. Jenni’s work is continually on display at the White Patch Gallery on Bribie Island and at the Blue Dolphin Gallery at Mooloolaba. 21 Pieces of Jenni’s paintings are hanging throughout the Holy Spirit Hospital at Chermside Brisbane

Julie Hutchings is a Clarence Valley artist (living on Bundjalung Country) who has been exhibiting on a professional level for 25 years. The human figure is her main source of inspiration and drawing is her passion. Julie has been facilitating sessions in life drawing for 20 years. Oil paint and charcoal are her chosen mediums. Julie has a strong connection to the land and love of animals that is reflected in her art. Social and political issues also influence her work from time to time. Drawing with expressive marks on canvas and paper is how Julie begins a painting, she then lets the surface dictate the direction her work will take and what stories it will reveal. Julie draws and paints with tremendous energy to deliver painted stories with expression and emotion.

Publications and awards

• Featured in published book: 2012 Portrait Artists Australia
• Published articles in art magazines and newspapers
• Featured on ABC on 25th April 2019
• Numerous exhibitions both solo and group shows
• Twice Finalist in International Cricket Prize
• 2020: Finalise in Jacaranda Aquisitive Drawing Award – Grafton Regional Gallery
• 2019: Finalist in National STILL award – Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery
• 2019: Finalist in Naked and Nude – Manning Regional Gallery
• 2018: Finalist in Jacaranda Aquisitive Drawing Award – Grafton Regional Gallery
• 2017: Winner of Yulgilbar Travelling Fellowship – France and Belgium
• 2013: Finalist in Northern Rivers Portrait Prize – Lismore Regional Gallery
• 2013: Finalist in Naked and Nude – Manning Regional Gallery
• 2012: Winner Best Emerging Artist – Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
• 2011: Winner Bendigo Bank Art Prize

The pursuit of masterly quality and technique is a high priority for Lyn Diefenbach whose work is imbued with a celebration of her faith and of life. Her paintings in pastel and oil cover a myriad of subject matter with her bold florals and portraits consistently receiving accolades nationally and internationally. Her ability to communicate her ideas has entrenched her as a respected and sought-after tutor, with teaching engagements internationally and across Australia.

Lyn was accepted into the International Guild of Realism in 2008, and holds Master Pastellist status with the Pastel Society of Australia. Lyn was awarded Eminent Pastellist status in the International Association of Pastel Societies in 2019, having achieved master Circle status with that group in 2014. Lyn was accepted into the Pastel Society of America as a Signature Member in 2016. She has been featured numerous times in the International Artist, Pastel Journal and Australian Artist magazines.

A word from Lyn:

I have been a professional artist for 25 years and a teacher of the craft of painting across Australia and the world for some 20 years. For quite some time I wasted a lot of energy worrying about whether being an artist was something worthwhile. It seemed to be a fairly useless occupation- not noble like a doctor or a teacher. But then I read Pope John Paul 2’s letter to all artists and this had a profound influence on me. In his letter John Paul exhorted : “Artists of the world, may our many different paths all lead to that infinite ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy……… May your art help to affirm true beauty, which as a glimmer of the Spirit of God, will transfigured matter, opening the soul to the sense of the eternal.”

Belinda is a cross-disciplinary folk artist, covering a range of styles in both digital and traditional mediums.

Born and bred in the wake of an extinct volcano, & after completing a Bachelor of Visual Arts at SCU, Belinda moved to the big smoke for a spell. She then set off to traverse for several years before returning to Australia and studying illustration. Belinda is currently working on illustrating a book of her short stories.

Lyn is a 7th generation Australian and has been a professional artist of beach and landscapes for over 30 years. Lyn has a long list of awards and people who appreciate and recognise the emotional and physical truth in her paintings. Her passion is the untamed, wild and often fragile beauty of the country and coastline of Australia. Lyn had been a ballet teacher, a primary teacher and the first travelling art adviser to 12 NSW schools but her own artwork evolved, and it has become her career since 1981. No matter what her subject, Lyn searches for conditions or personal characteristics that imprint the character of an area into her memory. This character becomes the energy in her paintings.

Five of Lyn’s works have been acquired for government city collections in Australia and Japan. A sixth was hung in Parliament house Canberra. With art awards accumulating since 1984, her realist/impressionistic works in pastel or oil, have a visible sensitivity coming from observation and understanding of her subjects. She has been honoured and amazed to know that among her many clients, people have travelled from Sydney, Wagga, Hong Kong and Los Angeles to her studio on the Mornington Peninsula specifically to buy her work.

She loves teaching and is able to break down the painting to understandable steps. She believes that if an artist understands how to use the values of light and shade, colour, different strokes, atmosphere and textures they will be better able to paint and enhance the story that they have composed in their painting and freely choose to dispose of anything unnecessary.

Lyn Mellady features in nine art reference books, including: -

Luminous Colour by Linda Finch; The Kennedy Press editions of ‘Best of Worldwide Portrait and Figurative Artists’ 2012; ‘Best of Worldwide Artists working in Charcoal, Pastel and Pencil’ 2010, and 2011; ‘About Face’- the story of Fusion six portrait artists.,

Online she featured in the World’s Top 13 Seascape Artists from Best of Worldwide Artists Collectors’ edition –She also featured in magazines Australian Artist, Pastel International and Australian Palette.

The Australian Guild of Realist Artists have given her Life membership for service and her Fellow status represents the quality of her paintings. She is also a Member of the Pastel Society of Victoria where she has won in their annual exhibitions Best in Show, Runner Up to Best in Show, the Ming McKay Award, Best Landscape/Seascape best Waterscape and others.

In 2001, Lyn represented Australia chosen as charter member and juror for www.landscapesinternational.com based in Canada. Since 1995, her history and expertise has qualified her to judge many art shows from Mackay (Qld) to Southern Victoria including the Camberwell Art Show.

Lyn, was a director of the Brialyn Fine Art Gallery in Frankston but retired (2016) after five years to give her painting more time. This extra time has also seen her able to conduct travel tours and interstate workshops across Australia.

Born in Mildura, Craig has shown an interest in art and drawing from a very young age and has created a successful career as a professional artist.

In 1970, the family moved to the Western District of Victoria and Craig's love of art and artistic interests extended into ceramics
and sculpture.
Craig has constructed several wood fired kilns for this purpose. You could say "it fired his imagination".

Studying art at Ballarat University, painting and graphic design claimed most of his attention allowing him to pursued a successful career in illustrator as a member of the Illustrators Association of Australia
for many years.
Craig has skills in a range of mediums including computer graphics.
He taught both traditional drawing, illustration and digital drawing at both Victoria University and Swinburne University.

Craig never lost his love of using traditional methods and now specializes in watercolour, acrylic painting and illustration.

In 2001, Craig had his first major solo exhibition in Mt Eliza, Victoria. There have been many exhibitions and awards since.

Craig's work has been accepted by Galleries around Australia, Singapore, SE Asia and California, USA as well a many private collections and is in strong demand today.

Richard McKinley has been a professional working artist for 38 years and has over 35 years of teaching experience. In 2010 he participated in the American Masters Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in NYC and was inducted into The Pastel Society of America’s Hall of Fame at the National Arts Club in NYC. His work is represented in several national galleries and is in the permanent collection of the Butler Institute of American Art Museum. He is a frequent contributing editor for the Pastel Journal Magazine. American Artist magazine profiled Richard in their January 2008 issue with an article titled: “The Dance Between Artists and their Paintings”, by M. Stephen Doherty. The July/August 2010 issue of Artist magazine features an interview by Christine McHugh titled: “Shimmering Water, Quiet Light”. The Fall 2010 issue of Workshop Magazine featured an article by Linda S. Price titled: “Tackling Three Key Challenges of Plein Air Painting with Oil and Pastel”. The August 2011 issue of Southwest Art Magazine featured an interview of Richard by Mark Mussari titled: “Misty Memories”. His work has been included in several books including: “A Painters guide to Design and composition”; “Painting with Pastels”; “Pure Color, the best of Pastel”; “Art Journey America Landscapes”; “Sketchbook Confidential”; and the French book “les maitres du pastel”. A book that compiles years of his published Pastel-Pointers columns and blogs for the Pastel Journal Magazine titled: “Pastel Pointers, Top Secrets for Beautiful Pastel Paintings”, was released by North Light publications in November 2010 and was an instant bestseller. Two instructional DVDs: “A Studio Session, Pastel”; and “A Studio Session, Oil” have been produced by Artist Productions and F+W Media, parent company of The Pastel Journal and Artist Magazines, released two videos on pastel painting in early 2010. An avid plein air painter, Richard divides his time between painting the locations he is passionate about, reinterpreting those paintings back in the studio, writing about art matters, and instructing workshops.

PERSONAL STATEMENT:

“I was born in the Rogue Valley of Oregon, and spent my youth growing up with the rivers and mountains that form this special place. It is from these subjects that I receive inspiration.”

Concerning induction into the

Pastel Society of America Hall of Fame, “I am humbled to be in such company, and grateful to my mentors for the opportunities that have come my way. Every blank surface provides the same intimidation and every day spent painting, a new challenge. My goal is to capture a piece of the spontaneous dance of light across the palette of nature. I hope my pieces are like a glance when we see something that makes us linger for a moment.” - Richard McKinley 

Australian painter Judy Drew was born in 1951. Her passion for the Post-Impressionism period and the influence of Japanese art in the late 1880’s, along with her creative sense of colour and form, allow Judy to create beautiful and modern work, even though Judy’s work is contemporary she retains a touch of sentiment in all her pieces. Her rich and textured pastels convey her emotion and love for this medium creating refreshing and strong compositional work, which is sensitive to the subject matter. Judy’s love for figurative work and her sensitive portraits of the Bougainville people gained local and international attention whilst living and working on Bougainville Island in papua New Guinea from 1976-1984. After living in Papua New Guinea, Judy returned to Melbourne and continued to concentrate on her figurative work and still life compositions. She studied Graphic Art at Prahran College of Art in Melbourne and has been recognized with numerous Awards including the Omega Contemporary Art Prize and the Portrait Prize, Melbourne Savage Club. With sell-out exhibitions, Judy’s reputation continues to soar as one of Australia’s most talented and exciting female artists.

Karen Hughes is a local teacher and a mixed media artist. Spending as much time as possible painting in her Terranora studio,  Karen creates textural pieces which are tangible and tactile as she upcycles papers  and  household findings, uses collage,  acrylic paints, stencils and resin in order to establish layers on her canvases. 

Karen brings a passion to encourage others to find their own creativity and artistic enjoyment through art, no matter what the skill level. She believes that mixed media art can be enjoyed by anyone that loves to be creative and that it allows a wonderful scope for success that is creatively exciting, social and positive.  Karen's students will be amazed at what they can achieve when they expand their own ideas via learning new skills and exploring a variety of art mediums in a fun environment.

Rikki Fisher is an accomplished artist with international recognition for her skills in scratchboard art. Rikki has been accredited as Master Scratchboard Artist (MSA) with the International Society of Scratchboard. There are only 17 artists worldwide who have attained MSA status.

Rikki is motivated by her passion for wildlife. She is both proficient and versatile in the craft and well able to impart her extensive knowledge.

Rikki has won National and International awards for her work.

A resident of northern NSW, Rikki holds workshops and has given demonstrations at local, State and International levels.

Her exquisite detailed works speak for themselves. 

Helen Beaver was born in Melbourne and completed her education in Brisbane, majoring in Art and Art History.

Her love of drawing and watercolour painting evolved during her time at Art School and she has concentrated on Watercolour ever since in an endeavor to “master” this complicated medium.

A winner of numerous awards, Helen’s work has been exhibited locally and internationally and has been recently published in World Wide Art Books, “International Contemporary Masters, 2013”.

A respected teacher and tutor, Helen is in constant demand to conduct Watercolour workshops, particularly in South East Queensland where she resides.

Mo works predominantly with encaustic, paper, drawing and photography. Her work is usually based around the landscape, and likes to get out and about photographing, capturing elements of the landscape. These may range from deteriorated car park walls to rocks etched by the sea to rusty palette bins. 

"I find the traditional image of a landscape too overwhelming for me. I want to interpret the small, overlooked details. I look for pattern and shape in that landscape. I find that exciting to be able to see it in that way.

The effects of nature and time and what they combine to do to all things are my inspiration.

I teach encaustic all over Australia, travelling to wherever there is a call.
We are now on the road in our caravan travelling through Australia and bringing creativity to as many places as we can. Setting up my mini portable studio space I can work in the open air and enjoy being part of the new place we are staying.

Teaching this amazing medium totally inspires me, I love to see people getting excited about being creative. Students often spark something in me with an idea or query, it also gives me the opportunity to make new friends, explore new ideas and challenges and to connect with other artists."

ABOUT SALLY STRAND

A native of Colorado now residing in California, Strand has been exhibiting professionally as an artist for over 30 years. Strand was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, the highest commendation of the Pastel Society of America, NY. She is the recipient of numerous top awards, including the PSA Master Pastelist distinction and the IAPS Master Circle Honor. Her solo exhibitions in galleries and museums include a one-person retrospective of pastel and oil paintings at the Bakersfield Museum of Art in California.

Widely published in books and magazines internationally, her work is also represented in many corporate and private collections. Strand studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and at the Art Students League and National Academy of Design in New York. She earned a BFA degree from the University of Denver and an MFA from Laguna College of Art and Design. Strand teaches workshops and master classes internationally and around the country.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I relate to small moments of life that are often overlooked. These moments resonate with me because they are familiar—we see ourselves in them. They sometimes suggest things beyond the obvious. Painting mundane objects or tasks provides me with a challenge to portray the commonplace in a compelling way, to make the usual unusual and worthy of notice.

My current body of work, painted with oil and pastels on canvas and paper, depicts moments in everyday life as experienced by the people most significant to me. My paintings have subtle, suggestive narratives: singular moments of life in the world, slices of daily life, the implied passage of time. They bring together my interests in abstract shapes and formal space combined with naturalistic figures and the many nuances of light. Through the familiar and commonplace content of these paintings, I attempt to explore emotion and mood as a form of visual poetry.

Corinne has exhibited her paintings in Brisbane, Gold Coast & Melbourne for more than 10 years. She is a 3 time finalist in the Border Art Prize and has held numerous shows throughout Australia. An accomplished painter with a love of fashion, females, fabric and jewellery, Corinne combines a thorough understanding of paint and its application with her bubbly nature that endears her to students and lovers of her art alike.

John Turton holds an array of awards, residencies and teaching experience spanning 4 decades. A master of capturing the essence of the Australian landscape, John's artworks hang in numerous galleries including The National Gallery in Victoria and numerous Council, Private and Overseas collections including Robert Holmes A Court (WA). John has been published in a number of magazines and now brings his wealth of knowledge of the Australian landscape to Artable for his 2 day weekend workshop. 

Listed in Who's Who in American Art, Judith Carducci has received international recognition as one of today's best portrait painters. Her work has been shown in such venues as The National Arts Club and the Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Cahoon Museum of American Art, and the Butler Institute of American Art. She has been featured in International Artist, Pastel Artist International, American Artist, The Pastel Journal, The Artist's Magazine, and the books, Best of Portrait Painting and Best of Pastel (North Light Books), "100 Ways to Paint People" (International Artist), and Portrait Highlights (American Artist).

She is one of two Americans featured in the book Paint! Portrait and Figure by the Swiss publisher RotoVision, and her painting, "Xanadu," was selected as one of the "best of the best" by the former curator of the Smithsonian Institute's Renwick Gallery for the art book Beautiful Things (Guild). Her drawing "My Name is Blue" was recently published in Strokes of Genius 4: The Best of Drawing(North Light)

Her work is in collections in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Israel, Europe and South Africa.

Her paintings have won Best of Show, Award of Excellence, First Place, Award of Merit, and purchase awards at international and national shows and competitions.

She is a Signature member of the Portrait Society of America (board & faculty) and the Pastel Society of America; a juried member of the Degas Pastel Society, the Cincinnati Art Club and the Salmagundi Club. She is also a Signature member of Akron Society of Artists and Hudson Society of Artists.

She is also a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies and of Phi Beta Kappa.

In additon to Who's Who in American Art, Judith is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in the World and "Outstanding People of the 20th [& 21st] Century" (International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England.)

Judith is represented by Portraits Inc., and Portraits South. She teaches workshops in portraiture, pastel, plein air landscape, anatomy for portraitists and still life by invitation.

Martina received her arts training at the Peter Schneider Atelier in Germany and became a commercial illustrator for major companies, such as BP, BHP, Queensland Goverment, Channel Ten etc. She also finished a degree in Graphic Design at the QSPGA in Brisbane. and worked for five years as a senior art teacher at the Gold Coast Art School in Southport.

She is former director of Ilustration House Pty Ltd, and The Art Directory. She has held numerous roles within the arts industry, including the presentation and lecturing of art business courses and discussion rounds for emerging artists and teaches art since 1999 and has now joined the teaching team of Artable to find more time for painting.

Artist Statement

I have been painting and drawing through my entire life, dedicating the last two years to painting full time. I feel something has been lost with the broader abandonment of beauty in art and it's ability to feed the soul, inspire and bring hope. I am on a journey to bring my vision and emotion into my work, which fills me with a great sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Biography

Born in Melbourne, Australia and now living and working in the Mt. Tamborine Hinterland. Howards early years were working as a signwriter and screen printer. He also worked until recently as a set designer, concept artist and prop maker at Movie World. Working primarily in oils and charcoal, Howard takes inspiration from classical and contemporary artists alike. Focusing on beauty and aesthetics, Searchfield strives to capture the essence and emotion of the subject or concept he is expressing through his chosen medium. An obsessive painter, he has studied with artists Tony Champ, Dirk Vanderlindt and more recently with Adelaide artist Robin Eley and Brooklyn N.Y artist David Jon Kassan. Currently exhibiting at Hillier and Skuse Gallery, his paintings and drawings hang in the homes of collectors both nationally and internationally.                       

David Wells was born 1977 into an artistic family. He is an eclectic artist having worked professionally as an actor, graphic artist, dancer, web designer, circus and street performer, musician, children's entertainer and visual artist.

He has exhibited extensively, and has been award over 30 prizes for his art.

His work has been regularly published in international journals, and has featured on the cover of both “The Artists Magazine” (2009) and “The Pastel Journal.” (2009 and 2014)

"I believe that a living person is more interesting then any artwork ever made; therefore, everyone is a masterpiece waiting to be painted.”

Sandra is self taught and has been a professional artist and illustrator for more than 26 years. During this time she has had a cartoon strip running for 8 years, designed numerous corporate logos, worked with the RSPCA, the Qld Police Force and quite a few City Councils as a cartoonist and illustrator. She has taught realistic drawing at numerous primary schools with a focus on conservational education, designed and made theatre costumes and sets as well as taught stage make-up, she has designed and made unique jewellery, illustrated 9 childrens books and written and illustrated 3 more.

In 1998 she started to organise art exhibitions for art groups and the Inaugural International Wildlife Exhibition in 1999, which took 2 years to organise, was a major challenge with 20 overseas artists exhibiting beside Australian ones. After previously holding the positions of President, Treasurer, Secretary and Editor, Sandra is again holding the position of President of the Qld Wildlife Artists Society Inc.

Although in previous years Sandra has exhibited a few times a year at the bigger shows, she finds it harder these days as her originals sell quickly and she is unable to keep up with demand. Her limited edition geclee reproductions sell well and are available from her website.

Concentrating her energy now on painting the worlds endangered species Sandra works in all mediums and is especially keen on mixed medium paintings. She is an art judge, an art teacher working with adults and children, a popular workshop tutor and is a product demonstrator for Faber-Castell. Sandra is also an internationally recognized Bodypainter working in advertising, special effects, film and events such as ComicCon and SuperNova as well as privately.

Sandra is an active member of many wildlife and conservation groups locally, nationally and internationally. Each year she chooses two local and one international wildlife conservation group to donate original artworks and limited edition giclee reproductions for fundraising. A percentage of many or her originals are also donated to 'good causes'.

She insists that all funds raised from her donated paintings and prints are used for the cause and only supports groups where either ALL workers are volunteers or there are only a few paid workers. This is one of her solutions to deciding who she can help each year from the huge number of requests she gets to donate art and prints.

As a professional artist since 1992, Ross is internationally recognized as one of

Australia’s leading and influential watercolourists who is also well respected for his “en plein air” paintings in pastel

and oil, both in Australia and overseas.

A multi award winner in Australia and internationally, Ross is often one of the few watercolourists invited to

represent Australia in World Watermedia Expositions and Biennials; and has had his work published in various

books and publications worldwide. These include,”The Art of Watercolour”[France}-the book, as well as the

magazine of the same name. Successful solo exhibitions in China and group exhibitions in Europe, have followed,

along with an instructional DVD-“Summer Light in Watercolour”-available wordwide.

Ross is an invited member of Twenty Melbourne Painters Society and Australian Watercolour institute[Sydney]

A trained teacher with an extensive background in art education, Ross capably imparts his

knowledge in a methodical, yet concise and positive manner, for all levels of development within the context of each

workshop theme. His workshop demonstrations are approached in logical steps and cover all aspects of necessary

awareness when painting-“en Plein air” or studio. Thoroughly explained elements, such as Design, Drawing, tone ,

Colour possibilities, technique and mood are all explained, along with the various subtleties and characteristics

associated with a specific area or subject. When on location, he will teach analytical awareness- pointing out

unifying shapes and relationships that will enable a painting to work as a design!

Over a career span of more than forty years, Alan Flattmann has become recognized as one of the most influential and respected pastel artists in the country. He is a Pastel Society of America's Hall of Fame honoree and is an Eminent Pastelist in the International Association of Pastel Societies.

Although accomplished in oil and watercolor, Flattmann is best known for his work in pastel. In 1987, ’90, ’91 and ’92, Watson Guptill published and reprinted his book The Art of Pastel Painting. Alan revised the book in 2007 (Pelican Publishing) and it is still considered by many as the definitive guide to pastels. Flattmann's work is also the subject of three additional books; An Artist's Vision of New Orleans: The Paintings of Alan Flattmann (2014, Pelican Publishing), Alan Flattmann's French Quarter Impressions (2002, Pelican Publishing) and The Poetic Realism of Alan Flattmann (1981, A.C.M. Publishing)

As well as receiving many awards and honors during the course of his career, Flattmann's work is featured in many art books and magazines such as American Artist, The Pastel Journal, Pastel Artist International, Watercolor, Southwest Art and the French magazine Pratique des Arts. His work has also been shown in over 60 solo exhibitions and included in major group exhibitions in the USA, France, Columbia, China and Taiwan. In addition, his paintings are found in the public collections of the Hang Ming Shi Pastel Art Museum (Suzhou, China), The Butler Institute of American Art, The New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Oklahoma Art Center, Longview Museum of Art, Mississippi Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Sarah Gillespie Museum (William Carey University), St. Tammany Parish Justice Center and Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, as well as hundreds of private and corporate collections.


The following CHRONOLOGY is an abbreviated review of Flattmann’s career:

1946 Born in New Orleans, La

1964-1967 Studied at John McCrady School of Art in the French Quarter.

1970 First major solo exhibition, "Portrait of a Jazz Funeral" at the Downtown Gallery,

New Orleans, LA.
Solo museum exhibition - Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, MS

1973 - 1974 Awarded Elizabeth T. Greenshields Memorial Foundation Grant. Lived and painted

in Barbados, West Indies. Painted primarily in oils and watercolors - began

transition to pastels as favorite medium.

1975 - 2010 First exhibition with Bryant Galleries. Annual solo shows in various BG locations -

New Orleans, Jackson, Birmingham, Dallas, Atlanta & Palm Beach.

1980 Commissioned to travel to Israel and Egypt to produce large series of
paintings for Bryant Galleries.

1981 Publication of The Poetic Realism of Alan Flattmann by Joyce Kelly.
The book featured paintings of New Orleans, Barbados and the rural South.

First featured in Who's Who in American Art and every year since.

1982 Solo Exhibition at the Oklahoma Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK.

1985 "Best of Show" - Kansas Pastel Society National Exhibition.
Traveled and painted in Greece collecting material for future shows.

1987 Publication of The Art of Pastel Painting by Alan Flattmann.
Exhibited in Salon International Du Pastel - Paris, France.

1991 Awarded Master Pastelist designation, Pastel Society of America.
Traveled and painted in Guatemala collecting material for future shows.

1996 The American Artist magazine’s Art Masters Teacher Award for Pastel.

2002 Publication of Alan Flattmann’s French Quarter Impressions by
John Kemp (Pelican Pub.).
Sept. 28, 2002 proclaimed Alan Flattmann Day by Mayor of New Orleans.

2004 "Best of Show" - Eighth Biennial Nat. Exhibit, Pastel Society of N. Florida.

2006 Inducted into the Pastel Society of America’s Hall of Fame at the
National Arts Club in New York City.
Paintings selected from the PSA’s 34th Annual Exhibition and shown at

the Butler Institute of American Art.

2007 Inducted into the Master Circle of the IAPS
IAPS International Exhibition – "Gold Award."
Publication of revised edition The Art of Pastel Painting.

2008 Paintings featured in the International Pastel Festival Exhibition of
The Pastellists Society of France – Feytiat, France

2009 "Joseph V. Giffuni Memorial Award" - Pastel Society of America.
"Visual Artist of the Year," St. Tammany Parish President’s Arts Award.

2010 Featured in reference books: Best of America Pastel Artists &
Best of Worldwide Artists

2011 New Gallery Afflilations:

Windsor Fine Art in New Orleans.

2012 Solo exhibitions at the Art Associates of Lake Charles Gallery in Lake Charles and

Barnwell Art Center, Shreveport, Louisiana.

2013 Solo exhibition at Windsor Fine Art in New Orleans,

Pastel Society of America Award in Honor of Flora B. Giffuni,

Paintings featured in the Pastel Painters of Spain International Salon Exhibition, Oviedo, Spain.

2014 Publication of An Artist's Vision of New Orleans: The Paintings of Alan Flattmann

A member of the American delegation of pastel artists invited to take part in the 1st China Biennial

International Pastel Art Exhibition and Symposium in Suzhou, China.

2015 Solo Exhibition at Ming Gallery of Art in Suzhou, China

2016 Salmagundi Club Award - Pastel Society of America

Achieved "Eminent Pastelist" status with IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies)

Liz Haywood-Sullivan, PSA-MP, IAPS/EP, has been dedicated to working exclusively in the pastel medium since 1996. Her attraction to the medium is pastel's ability to capture light and atmosphere in the landscape. 

She is a sought after instructor and judge for pastel societies and arts organizations around the world. 

Liz authored the popular book Painting Brilliant Skies and Water in Pastel. Her award-winning pastel paintings have been featured in numerous books and magazine articles, and have appeared in national, international and museum exhibitions worldwide. 

Liz is a President Emerita of the International Association of Pastel Societies (2013-2017) and is the current president of the North River Arts Society in Massachusetts. 

TESTIMONIALS:

"What I value most in a teacher is the ability to know when to challenge and when to support, and you have that in good measure."

Ruth Rodgers, PastelArtists.Ca

"You have the unique combination of being an outstanding, nationally acclaimed artist, and an equally outstanding, comprehensive, methodical instructor. As a participant, I was challenged and inspired to try never-before used techniques, and to elevate my knowledge and technique to a more advanced level. I was also impressed with your ability to adapt your workshop to suit the specific needs of our group, in this case using plein air techniques around the fall landscape theme."Deb Rasberry, Piedmont Pastel Society

"Your style of teaching is thoughtful and intuitive but most of all generous. To share your wealth of knowledge so readily, speaks volumes."Phyllis, Pastel Society of America

"Great workshop! You are a natural born teacher and I can tell you really enjoy teaching. You have the capability to meet students at their level and encourage and challenge them at the same time. This will be a workshop that continues to teach me as I work at home in my studio."Nancy Marshburn, Piedmont Pastel Society

Portrait artist Penelope Gilbert-Ng creates classically inspired contemporary custom oil and pastel portrait paintings for official, corporate and private commissions. Her oil portraiture brings to mind a level of craftsmanship and artistry that many believe no longer exists. Her paintings are inspired by the very sensibilities of the Impressionist Era. By combining superb draughtsmanship with subtle life-like color and deft paint handling, Penelope creates cherished heirlooms that reveal the true spirit of her subjects. Whether you wish to honor a beloved family member, recognize a momentous career achievement, or give that special someone a truly incomparable gift, you can commission Penelope to create an extraordinary, unique and timeless work of art.

Penelope has been creating award winning artwork for over forty years. She is a consummate professional whose portrait paintings meld her great passion for painting with her never ending fascination for people. Her portrait paintings, are perfect examples of how a modern master of classical realism can incorporate a contemporary aesthetic with a classical painting sensibility to create a truly classic work of art. Penelope combines fine craftsmanship with her sensitive eye to convey the inner essence of her subjects connecting with them to capture a realistic yet not photographic likeness.

Penelope’s award winning museum quality oil and pastel portraits are sought by collectors worldwide. She is represented in private and corperate collections.

Penelope painted The Chief Minister Sir Michael Somare before he became Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and this painting was a finalist in the Archibald and Portia Geach Portrait Competitions. She also painted a number of the Speakers of the House of Representatives Papua New Guinea.She has painted several department Heads of the University of Queensland.

Selecting the best portrait painter to create your commission is an important decision. Since a well crafted oil painting will last for hundreds of years, you, and your ancestors will be looking at your commissioned portrait for a long time. It's important that you are one hundred percent satisfied with the result. Many of Penelope's clients are avid art collectors, and they want their portraits to be comprable to the museum quality paintings in their collections. Penelope is a true perfectionist and her credo - that her next painting be her best - keeps her constantly striving to reach even greater artistic heights.

Diploma of Painting, Fellow of Royal Qld Art Society, Master Pastellist of Pastel Society of Australia
Penelope Gilbert-Ng ‘s journey as an artist started aged 3,Studied at East Sydney Technical College late teens (Diploma of Painting,1971) and furthering her development with her painting in isolation in Papua New Guinea (13 years). On returning to Australia 1986 studied with noted artists in Australia, New York, and New Mexico. Penelope believes that continual learning is essential for self-development as an artist. She is a Master Pastellist with the Pastel Society of Australia, President and Fellow of the Royal Qld Art Society and sought after tutor with Art Societies and Groups Nationally in all mediums. Penelope has been a finalist in the Archibald and Portia Geach Portrait Prizes and has had numerous solo and joint exhibitions. Her commissioned paintings are represented in corporate/ private collections worldwide. Winner of many competitions combining knowledge and dedication to her art has enabled her to judge shows since 2002. Penelope has written 6 articles for The Australian Artist Magazine (Dec 2000/ March 2006/ April 2009/April 2011/ July 2011/May 2013)
Demonstrated Portraiture at the International Association Of Pastel Societies at Albuquerque in May 2009


Artist Statement

I am a painter that is who I am. I have painted all my life and continually studied, explored and enjoyed my learning processes on how I want to communicate visually to an audience. For me the effect of light on my subjects and the shadows created by a light source are in a sense equally important in creating the shapes, tone and composition required to make an enjoyable painting. I paint in all mediums but pastels’ spontaneous response and multitudes of hues and tones are so exciting especially when painting from life. I never cease to be amazed by the results. I don’t paint photographically but do believe in portraying and responding to what I see, simplifying and eliminating detail so as to make the viewer's eye work as well. My mark making is bold and confident yet shows a sensitivity to my subjects. When I paint the adrenalin flows and energy transforms into my work. I cannot think of any better way to spend my time than painting. We are truly blessed as artists. My teaching has been a wonderful source of learning as I have learned so much from my students. I first played with pastels over 40 years ago but seriously concentrated on using them for the past 25 years. I have found the speed of using pastel so wonderful when working with a model on a weekly basis as I love the individual skin colours of each model and how the light affects that colour. Pastel is the perfect medium to work from life. I hope that my paintings lift the viewer's spirit when they look at them. 

Career / Achievements /Certification and Education skills:

• Diploma of Painting
• Finalist Portia Geach Portrait Competition Twice
• Finalist Archibald Portrait Competition
• Demonstrating Portraiture at IAPS Albuquerque New Mexico USA
• Judge /Tutor for Pastel Society of New Zealand
• Fellowship Of RQASI
• Master Pastellist and Life Member PSAI
• Tutoring/communication skills for painting and drawing
• Winning Grand Champion Portrait EKKA 2009, 2016

Career Profile:

• 50+ years artist
• 27 years teaching- ACE TAFE 9 years
• President RQASI 2 years
• 19 years on committee RQASI
• President Pastel Society of Australia 2 years.
• 5 years on committee Pastel Society of Australia/sub committees ongoing
• Awarded Master Pastellist of Pastel Society of Australia 2000
• Awarded Fellowship Of Royal Qld Art Society Inc 2003
• Awarded Life Membership of Pastel Society of Australia 2016 for service to the Society.

Employment Experience:

• Self-employed as Tutor at workshops 18 years Nationally and Internationally. Toowoomba Campus University of Qld, Mitchel School of Arts Bathurst. Grafton Arts School, ASOC Canberra, Victorian Pastel Society Australia. Pastel Society of South Australia, Pastel Society of Australia, Samford Art Group Coochie Art Group, Art Academy Brisbane, Brisbane Institute of Art, Atelier Art School, Art Club Lismore, Arts West Longreach, Wallabadah Art Group N.S W, Murrurundi N.S.W, Bundaberg Art Group, Royal Qld Art Society, Mackay Art Society, Scone Art Group N.S W, Eyre Art group. Mareeba Primary School, Private School at Atherton Tablelands. Morayfield High School 1 week Art program for Grade 10/11/12 Twice. Kingston Primary teaching wildlife drawing. Flying Arts tutor.
• Teaching privately
• Internationally- Judge and tutor North and South Islands of NZ, Pastel Society of New Zealand

-Tutored twice at the Greek Islands Artemis Tours 3 week painting holidays

• Demonstrated at IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies) representing Australia Albuquerque, New Mexico. USA
• Judge: Mackay Art Society, Brookfield Show, Rotary Sunnybank, Royal Qld Art Society, Annual International Miniature Art Awards, Beenleigh Rotary Art Awards, Woodford Biennial Art Awards, Maleny Art Awards, Caboulture Art Society, Watercolour Art Society, St Catherine’s Anglican 1^st Inaugural Art Show, Qld Wildlife Art Society, Cloncurry Ernest Henry Art Awards, Longreach Arts West, RQAS Gold Coast, Art Whitsundays, Coochiemudlo Art Group Annual.

• Held weekend workshops at Kindilan Education and Outdoor Facility Painting the landscape
• Commissions
• Exhibiting in numerous exhibitions

Education:

• Diploma of Painting East Sydney Technical College (5 years) 1971
• Studied with Scholarship at New York Pastel Society of USA 2003
• Attended many workshops from 1990 to present day.

Commissions:

• Sir John Guise Speaker of Assembly Papua New Guinea 1973
• Sir Barry Holloway Speaker of Assembly Papua New Guinea 1973
• Ikini Holloway Papua New Guinea 1973
• Prime Minister Michael Somare acquisition 1975
• University Of Qld Cromwell College Past Principal Rev. Dr G Lindsay Lockley MA,BD,PhD 2003
• University of Qld Head University of Veterinary School Professor Neil McMenamin 2008
• University of Qld Head of Women’s College Professor Iyla Davies 2016
• Numerous private collections worldwide

Publications:

• 9 Articles published Australian Artist Magazine. 2000,2006,2009,2011,2012,2,13,2013,2016,2016.
• Featured in the book Luminous Colour, Showcasing Australian Pastel Artists by Linda Hibbs 2014

Exhibitions:

• 8 Solo Exhibitions
• 6 Joint Exhibitions
• Finalist Archibald Portrait Show
• Finalist twice in Portia Geach Portrait Show.
• Finalist Maree Ellis Drawing Prize
• Finalist Figurative RQAS twice
• Exhibited in many Rotary exhibitions and competitions
• Won EKKA Grand Champion Portrait twice (one oil, one pastel) and many awards in Art sections including pastel sections of the EKKA

Paul Jackson spent his adventurous childhood in Starkville Mississippi. He discovered his passion for watercolor at Mississippi State University in 1985. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Missouri in 1992, and has since been relentless in pursuit of his creative dreams, receiving top honors in national and international competitions, contributing his art to a vast library of magazines and books and sharing his creative influence to all corners of the earth.

Honored by the American Watercolor Society with signature membership at the age of 30, Paul is also a Signature member of the National Watercolor Society and an Honor Member of the Missouri Watercolor Society.

Paul was the Grand Prize winner in the Paint Your Way to Pariscompetition and has been featured as one of the Master Painters of the World in International Artists Magazine. Jackson’s artwork has been on the cover of The Artist’s Magazine four times. Other media featuring Jackson’s work include American Artist, Watercolor magazine, Watercolor Magic, Watercolor Artist, Forbes Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, The Baltimore Sun, The St Louis Post, The Kansas City Star, and TWA’s Ambassador Magazine.

Much of Paul’s portfolio of watercolors hangs in private collections, but some examples are on display in museums and public buildings. The Missouri State Capitol, Governor’s Mansion and Supreme Court all prominently feature Jackson watercolors.

Although Paul has an unequaled passion for watercolor, his creative energy has not been limited to paper. He designed the Missouri Commemorative State Quarter for the United States Mint, created the stage backdrop for the musical Porterphiles at the York theatre in NYC, has thrice designed Presidential Easter eggs for the White House. Paul has also created several public art murals and glass mosaics, and is a frequent leader for charitable causes.In 2008, Jackson was the featured speaker at the International Watercolor Masters Invitational in Lushan, China. Paul was also the only American artist invited to the International Art Meet in Kolkata, India in 2011.

Jackson frequently serves as judge for national and international art competitions. In 2009 he served as the invited juror for the American Watercolor Society’s 142nd annual international exhibition.

A prolific artist and ambitious world traveler, Paul Jackson is one of today’s most versatile and visible contemporary watercolorists. Whether his subject is landscape, cityscape, portrait, architecture, still life or abstract, Paul captivates his audience with genuine emotion, intensity and finesse that energize each of his creations.

Jackson is the author of Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor, from North Light Books and The Wandering Watercolorist, from Chameleon Press 2013. He is an eagle scout, an adventurous spirit and travels the earth in search of visual inspiration

Artist Nerida de Jong captures the essence of her life experiences in the rich, vibrant colors of her acrylic paintings. Her style is very natural with brush strokes flowing organically. Her attention to intricate and beautiful detail brings a reality to her work that draws you into the painting allowing you to share those experiences with her.

Her paintings tell real life stories. “My works are just what they are—explanations of what’s happening around me at a particular time,” de Jong explains.

Remembering the passion for drawing and painting that she felt from the age of three, the Australian Artist Nerida de Jong has spent much of her life in some of the most beautiful corners of the globe, from the exotic Cook Islands and Fiji, to provincial France and now to the breathtaking Greek Islands. These idyllic locations called “home” over the years continue to have a great influence on her artwork today.

De Jong’s work is represented in galleries in a variety of countries and in many private collections throughout the world.

New Zealand born, Queensland based artist, Kelly Southee enjoys travelling to capture new places and landscapes.

Her first creative career was as an Interior Designer, giving her experience across corporate, retail, hospitality and apartment projects in the 1990’s.

In 2001, Kelly was given the opportunity to concentrate on visual art while living in California. This proved a productive year with uninterrupted time to focus on painting. She has been painting and drawing ever since.

The landscape has always been a strong theme in Kelly’s work. She aims to highlight our relationship with the environment, both urban and rural, in paintings featuring people and the places and spaces which they inhabit and often escape to.

As a former designer, who focused on the ‘built environment’, Kelly is always interested in capturing buildings – homes, gardens, corner stores, and city’s streetscapes – that tell a story of who we are. “I feel compelled to honour these character-filled buildings and their precious green spaces, as they disappear to make way for urban redevelopment.”

Kelly is available for private commissions, and offers her most popular work as Limited & Open edition reproductions.

Inspiration

Local:

Kelly often sees inspiration for a painting while going about daily life. She finds delight in quirky or often overlooked elements within our urban environment: trees hugging road edges which are severely sculpted by traffic, or old buildings that might not be here next year.

Further Afield:

When time allows Kelly enjoys outdoor ‘en plein air’ painting with her pastels, paints and travel easel.

Process:

Kelly uses a variety of mediums depending on what she feels best expresses the subject matter: pastels for their spontaneity and immediacy; oil paints on canvas for their rich ‘creaminess’; or high quality acrylic paints for their vibrancy and versatility.

Both full time artists, Lucy & Barry McCann are a husband & wife team who produce works largely on a commission basis. Their demonstrations, teaching & judging skills are sought after by art societies and groups throughout Australia & overseas. They have achieved numerous prizes and awards with their work represented in many private & corporate collections. They have appeared on the TV series “Colour in your life”. Please find the link to their 4 episodes at their website www.mccannfineart.net.au under the heading “Resources”. 

Christopher Hagen

Raised by a biologist and a journalist in the forested stretch of northern Wisconsin, Christopher Hagen, received a BFA in Digital Art & Photography from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Becoming deeply involved in printmaking during that time, he took a journeyman’s path through Minneapolis, completing a professional internship at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking. In 2012, Christopher undertook study with Illinois State University, and completed his Master of Fine Arts degree in 2015. He attended the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in 2013 to further his printer training, and has since served as a printer for Normal Editions Workshop in Illinois and Northern Prints Gallery, Duluth. Now based in Brisbane, Australia, Christopher teaches printmaking at the Queensland College of Art and the Brisbane Institute of Art.

Christopher's work has been exhibited throughout America, Australia, Greece and Egypt; and his work is held in collections at the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts (Greece), Limerick School of Art & Design (Ireland), Illinois State University (Illinois, USA), Northern Prints Gallery (Duluth, USA), University of Minnesota Duluth (Duluth, USA), Kendall College of Art & Design (Minnesota, USA) and El Minia University, Egypt.

Claudia Husband

Claudia Husband is a practicing visual artist and textile designer currently residing in Brisbane, having studied printmaking in Australia and America. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Art with Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art (QCA) in 2012, and attended the Tamarind Institute of Lithography in Albuquerque, USA in 2013 to further her studies in lithography and collaborative printing. Until recently, Claudia was one of the only printmakers in Brisbane teaching the medium of lithography to artists outside of tertiary institutions, and has mentored many emerging artists at the Queensland College of Art and through Brisbane’s local artist run cooperative, Impress Printmakers Studio.

Claudia's work has been exhibited in Australia and America; and currently has work in collections at the State Library of Queensland, Griffith Artworks, QCA Printmaking Department, Northern Prints Gallery (Duluth, USA), The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts (Greece), Magnani Papers Australia and private collections in the UK, USA, South Africa and Australia.

James has been painting in watercolour for over 25 years and has exhibited his work in galleries throughout Australia and Southern Africa for the last 10 years.

James was born and spent most of his life on a farm in Africa where he started to paint scenes from the farm and African life. After moving to Australia some 14 years ago he fell in love with the Australian landscape particularly the old farms, the warm soft colours and the light. This inspired him to paint more seriously.

He paints loosely in watercolour using wet into wet techniques “the faster I work the more feeling the painting has”. He doesn’t paint to sell but more what catches his eye or portrays the feeling of a scene. He feels a deep connection with the land and nature.

He also loves to share his excitment for watercolour and painting

with others. As a result he teaches workshops and joins or creates painting groups where ever he goes.

Jan Lawnikanis has been teaching weekly art lessons continuously for the past 27 years and she has tutored over 200 workshops in various locations around Australia. Students in all mediums have praised Jan for her teaching skills and this has gained her an excellent reputation with all ages.

In her personal art career, Jan’s beautifully presented work in various mediums has won many first prizes and other awards. For the last few years Jan has represented Australia in the international watercolour exhibition Fabriano In Aquarello, in Italy.

Her commissions range from school theatre sets to a set for the QLD Conservatory of Music, 40 artworks for an apartment building, 15 artworks for an office floor, paintings for a restaurant as well as school murals and private works for client’s homes.

Jan has been the featured artist in Australian Artist Magazine, with 5 full-length articles on using coloured pencils, along with publishing and creating her own eBook.

Other publications include the Paradise Magazine-GC Bulletin, Art Newsflash, International Watercolour Institute catalogue, Fabriano In Aquarello catalogues, Art Edit magazine, the Australian Coloured Pencil Network and Artwise textbook for the Australian School Curriculum.

‘I love to teach art! It is always a thrill seeing students improve in leaps and bounds. I relish the opportunity to pass on everything I have learnt in the past 26 years of producing art and teaching it. Gratefully, students often comment that they have learnt more in my workshops than any previously. On a personal level, my passion is about finding truth and beauty in the natural world, conveying the amazing effects of light and shadows, and using colour to advantage.’ Jan L.

For me painting has been an evolutionary process, however the opportunity to paint did not present itself until the early 2000’s when I enrolled in a local Tafe course and from there a succession of completed studies ensued including Certificate II Visual Arts and Diploma of Visual Arts (Fine Arts) at Cooloola Sunshine Institute of Tafe, furthermore 2015 saw me finish a Fine Arts Degree with Curtin University.

During this time I also had the opportunity to exhibit work in a variety of local Galleries as well as co-coordinating a couple of local art shows and in addition to that show my paintings in a range of exhibitions and competitions throughout Queensland, interstate and most recently, an exhibition in Florence Italy. I’ve also held the position of Gallery Curator at Yandina Historic House for a number of years, giving me the chance to work with other Artists, organize and present artwork and become involved in a variety of local community events.

Additionally I have had the good fortune to organize and run several children’s art workshops, and implement some art projects in a local primary school. It is all these artistic opportunities that have helped me gain a better understanding of art making and in doing so have given me the direction and inspiration that I have needed.

As long as I can remember I have had a keen interest in animals and art. Drawing, tracing and cutting out pictures was an important pastime when I was young, and as the years past my interest grew and finally evolved into the arts practice I have today. Describing my work is easy it’s always been traditional realism and the natural world. For me the animal kingdom is the driving force behind my art as I love to delve into the diversity of animal life. My intention is to capture my subject’s character and expression, incorporating their humour, their majesty and wonder, and as a result, the painting then tells its own story.

Paul has been teaching and tutoring for over 30 years. His workshops have ranged from U.S., Hong Kong, Japan and all over Australia.

Paul takes great pleasure in showing his students a different technique using any water based paints. He tries to give the students a fun workshop and not have them feel uptight.

Students seem to adapt well to the airbrush in the beginning and it is very hard to get it out of their hands by the end of the workshop.

He’s had many compliments on the way he handles his students and is very patient.

Paul was born in August 1945. As a child he loved to draw but had no formal training or direction. After school he started window dressing at Myer Melbourne. He was called up for two years in 1966 as a conscript and served one year overseas in the army.

In 1971 he went to England and spent three years travelling and working. Married in Australia in 1974, he began painting murals

for children's nurseries. In 1978 he became engrossed in wildlife art. After much research into ornithology and through self-taught efforts and experiments he started to get the hang of it. A few years later he became a member of

"The Wildlife Art Society of Australasia" and

the very next year won first prize for the best painting.

Since that eventful exhibition many things began to formulate ~ Paul was included in a book launch in 1990 featuring 70 of the best living traditional artists in Australia. He also had a book published on his own paintings. Australia Post commissioned him in 1991 to do a water bird series of stamps and he was subsequently commissioned by the United Nations to paint a series of endangered species in 1994, which was released in Vienna.

Paul has had solo exhibitions in London and Japan, six solo shows in America and two at the exclusive "Raffles" Hotel in Singapore,

making his international career blossom.

To be chosen to exhibit at the prestigious "Leigh Yawkey Woodson Birds In Art" show in America (80 selected from over 3500 entries) was a "feather in his cap". He was chosen two years running in 1995 and 1996. Paul was honoured with a fellow membership to “The Wildlife Art Society Of Australasia” for services to the society and wildlife art. In 2006, he became

the first Australian wildlife artist to have a solo exhibition in Hong Kong. In 2009 he released his second book “Away With The Birds”.

In 2014 he was on the front cover and had an article about his work in the first edition of 'Creative Artist' magazine. Paul was included

in the 'Wildlife Art Museum of Australia' book launch at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne November 2014.

His love for painting, with that of his wife, son and daughter make him a truly contented

artist. 

Paul has been teaching and tutoring for over 30 years. His workshops have ranged from U.S., Hong Kong, Japan and all over Australia.

Paul takes great pleasure in showing his students a different technique using any water based paints. He tries to give the students a fun workshop and not have them feel uptight.

Students seem to adapt well to the airbrush in the beginning and it is very hard to get it out of their hands by the end of the workshop.

He’s had many compliments on the way he handles his students and is very patient - you will love his style of teaching!

Paul was born in August 1945. As a child he loved to draw but had no formal training or direction. After school he started window dressing at Myer Melbourne. He was called up for two years in 1966 as a conscript and served one year overseas in the army.

In 1971 he went to England and spent three years travelling and working. Married in Australia in 1974, he began painting murals

for children's nurseries. In 1978 he became engrossed in wildlife art. After much research into ornithology and through self-taught efforts and experiments he started to get the hang of it. A few years later he became a member of

"The Wildlife Art Society of Australasia" and

the very next year won first prize for the best painting.

Since that eventful exhibition many things began to formulate ~ Paul was included in a book launch in 1990 featuring 70 of the best living traditional artists in Australia. He also had a book published on his own paintings. Australia Post commissioned him in 1991 to do a water bird series of stamps and he was subsequently commissioned by the United Nations to paint a series of endangered species in 1994, which was released in Vienna.

Paul has had solo exhibitions in London and Japan, six solo shows in America and two at the exclusive "Raffles" Hotel in Singapore,

making his international career blossom.

To be chosen to exhibit at the prestigious "Leigh Yawkey Woodson Birds In Art" show in America (80 selected from over 3500 entries) was a "feather in his cap". He was chosen two years running in 1995 and 1996. Paul was honoured with a fellow membership to “The Wildlife Art Society Of Australasia” for services to the society and wildlife art. In 2006, he became

the first Australian wildlife artist to have a solo exhibition in Hong Kong. In 2009 he released his second book “Away With The Birds”.

In 2014 he was on the front cover and had an article about his work in the first edition of 'Creative Artist' magazine. Paul was included

in the 'Wildlife Art Museum of Australia' book launch at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne November 2014.

His love for painting, with that of his wife, son and daughter make him a truly contented
artist.

Originally from Canada, Brittany Partington is now a local teacher on the Gold Coast. Brittany is passionate about bringing out the creativity in people of all abilities, allowing individuals to discover and enjoy the process of creating artworks. She believes that art is an avenue for people to connect, express, and have a bit of fun in the midst of the ‘busy’. Brittany has explored the use of different mediums such as acrylics, watercolour, photography and bringing recycled wood into some of her designs but brings her amazing personality to our 'Unwind with Watercolour' events where she works with students to use art as a way to relax and explore creativity at the end of a busy day.

Hello!

I'm sitting here trying to think what you'd like to know about me, what type of introduction I make ...

I'm just a girl from a dairy farming family, I am totally obsessed with drawing, painting and art. Mainly because it soothes and stills all the thoughts that race and roam around inside this brain of mine. I see beauty and light and colour everywhere.

I married my childhood best friend and it just so happens he is the greatest human I know. He keeps all of us loved and looked after, he even manages all my art and my ideas.

We have four kids. They're cute in the photo but don't be deceived, they are all so alive and expressive and naughty and kind and arrrgggghhhhh!

I have no parenting advice but I do love them more than I knew I could. I think if you love your kids really well that't the best example for them and others.

I struggle with my art because all I want to do is paint and draw living things. People. Animals. Plants. Those kind of things. Everyday kind of people like you and me, with our love, resilience, laughter and hope. But everyday kind of people also have some mess, pain, hurt and scars. You can't have one without the other.

One day I dream of voicing in an image, what is burning inside of every person in way that helps them have courage and vision for their whole life. That's the direction I want to head in.

I am so honoured that you'd find my work interesting enough to follow along on the journey.

I would like to write a little more so if you would like to join in, just enter your email address at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for pouring courage on my ideas. We were created to create!

jess

x

Lara Scolari is a contemporary Australian visual artist, a creative entrepreneur and a recognised fine art expert renowned for her striking original artworks that are making a splash on the Australian art scene.

A natural born artist who grew up in Sydney’s leafy suburb of Balmain, Lara was always destined to become a painter. Her mother is a painter and her father, who is a talented musician, used to work as an industrial chemist for the art brand Matisse Derivan which manufactures artist paint and mediums.

Influenced by major artistic figures such as Brett Whitley, Helen Frankenthaler, John Olsen, Hans Hoffman and Mark Rothko, Lara developed her own distinct approach to the ‘abstract expressionist’ style.

Lara moved to Dubbo for work in her early 20s as the Education Officer at the Western Plains Cultural Centre. While in the country, Lara proudly exhibited her contemporary abstract artworks in many solo and group exhibitions, including the Dubbo Regional Gallery and Orange Regional Gallery.

Her work is now represented in public and private collections throughout the world.

Lara spent 20 years in Dubbo fostering her love of art and focusing on her young family.

Now residing in Balmain, Lara works fulltime from her vibrant light-filled studio, which she is in the process of converting into a stunning family home, an open art gallery and her ‘happy creative space’.

Her recent body of work has been a huge success and has propelled Lara’s career into the stratosphere.

Interested in how energy informs the painting and viewing process, Lara’s practice explores multilayered organic forms that create an enlivening space for contemplation and a resting place for thoughts.

Inspired by memory, meditation, music and influenced by our Australian culture – an island continent surrounded by water, her eye-catching paintings feature a beautiful translucent veiled colour palette that reflects our natural landscape.

An Action/Gestural painter, Lara’s work is produced in an ‘abstract expressionist’ style where a variety of media, developed experimental techniques and processes are used to create depth through exquisite transparent layers that reveal hidden dioramas.

Prolifically producing strong considered bodies of work, Lara’s coveted artworks are beautiful in organic form, line, shape and composition.

FREEDOM, ENERY & SOUL

After working in the legal profession for 25 years Joan Blond has returned to her first love of painting.

Joan is an abstract expressionist and contemporary artist based in the Yarra Valley, Victoria.

Mostly self taught, Joan’s creative side was nurtured by her Mother who constantly shared her love of drawing & painting.

Joan loves painting generous blocks of colour and her style is vibrantly expressionistic, often incorporating energetic line work.

Joan mostly paints using acrylics with substance which add texture to her work and at times works with oil paint. She also loves experimenting with different mediums & washes.

Joan works from her home studio in Yellingbo in Victoria’s lush Yarra Valley and is creatively motivated by the location and the relaxed atmosphere it offers.

Joan also takes many cues from contemporary design and her love of interior design. She loves working with homeowners and designers looking for paintings with a custom colour scheme.

Joan has had 2 solo exhibitions and had works included in numerous group shows.

Joan’s paintings are held by private collectors throughout Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany and recently Hong Kong.

Australian Artist, Painter and Tutor.. Painting and creating are Don’s passions, with Australia offering him such a rich source of inspiration for his artistic endeavours. He chooses themes and subjects from this rich and unique way of life, it’s characters and scenery, all of which inspire, colour and enrich his world as an artist. His honest, intuitive approach to painting has won Don many awards and accolades which have lead to many commissioned art works produced in his popular themes. Artists who influence and inspire him: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez, Godward, and modern day masters: Norman Lindsay, Sydney Long, Rupert Bunny, Tom Roberts, James Whistler and contemporary artists: Ralf Heimans, Richard Schmid, Hal Barton, Herman Pekel, Kevin Beilfuss and many others. “I am primarily a Visual Communicator using images to tell stories in my own way as I celebrate my ‘Freedom of Expression’ through mediums such as Acrylics, Oils, Pastels and Charcoal. I’m inspired by my environment and the colourful characters who inhabit it. My internal impressions manifest and reflect themselves through my paintings, covering many subjects and genres, predominately Portraiture, Seascapes, Landscapes, and Still Life.” “I often paint in a traditional style, however, I also enjoy exploring new and dynamic ways of seeing and capturing my subject.” The Role of the artist when painting is to capture and express something special about their subject and the intuitive artist can see below the surface, which empowers the creative spirit to express “That Special Something” ..the true and unique essence of the subject. “I believe every artist needs to discover their own unique way of expressing these things by developing unique techniques and methods. Using colour and tone to create mood and leaving the mark of the artist’s brush strokes in the paint itself.”

Artist Statement

My artwork is inspired by the nature and environment of the Mallee region.

Local birds and animals are often my choice of subject. Their shapes, colours and movements are well suited to the style of painting that I enjoy. Using expressive marks and bold colours, I aim to capture more than a physical likeness. I want to create a sense of a subject’s character and the impression of its environment.

I use a combination of watercolour paint and coloured inks on paper. I also make use of markers and pens to further develop textural elements and strengthen the rhythmic qualities to the work.

Education

Bachelor of Art (Fine Art), printmaking major, La Trobe University Mildura 2000

Diploma of Education, La Trobe University Bendigo 2003

Awards

Best Drawing, Rotary Club of Kerang 2010 Annual Easter Art Show.

Short Listed for the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery National Print and Drawing Awards 2010, 2014 and 2018

Winner of the ‘Any other medium’ section of the Rotary Club of Kerang 2011 Annual Easter Art Show.

Best Watercolour, Rotary Club of Kerang 2015 Annual Easter Art Show

Highly Commended, Rotary Club of Kerang 2015 Annual Easter Art Show

Gunnawarra Shire Acquisition Award, Rotary Club of Kerang 2016 Annual Easter Art Show

Highly Commended, Rotary Club of Kerang 2017 Annual Easter Art Show

Solo Exhibitions

Vitality- Nejakarto Gallery, Kerang 2010

On Paper- Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 2010

Kerang- Sir John Gorton Library, Kerang 2011

Relief - Stefano's Gallery 25, Mildura 2011

Lino Man – Red Brick Gallery, Ballarat 2012

Matrix – Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 2012

Birds - Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 2015

Paul Oswin Art- Cohuna Community Art Gallery 2015

Mallee Birds – Sir John Gorton Library 2016

Birds of the Mallee- Mildura Arts Centre

Mallee Birds- Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery 2018

Feather, Fur and Fin- Cohuna Community Art Gallery 2018

Kerry is a full time artist and creative entrepreneur. Her works passionately explore technique, composition and colour through expressive textures and energetic tones. Known for her bright, vibrant and bold work, encompassing floral, life painting and abstraction, Kerry has been exhibiting since 2009 and since moved forward to win the Westpac Art Prize, qualified as a finalist in the Fisher’s Ghost Award and selected Highly Commended in the Pirtek Art Prize. Each artwork is unique – intuitively and spontaneously evolving through the spiritual practice of letting go and trusting. Kerry’s signature style can be attributed to the pure joy of creating and she is constantly evolving her dynamic approach to mark making.

Beth Kennedy lives and works in Brisbane and has a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the Australian National University. She has held six solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions. Beth is represented by Greenhouse Interiors and her work has appeared in Australian House & Garden, Belle magazine and The Age’s Melbourne Magazine.

The essence of Beth’s paintings is the dynamics of patterning. Even at their most colourful, there is a quiet and enigmatic beauty to her work.

Pattern, colour and composition all work together to present a snippet of an emotional narrative in the floating worlds she creates. She works intuitively with colour, at times allowing it to flow across the canvas in washes, and at others using it in bold opaque area. Amongst this, wavering patterns move in and out of focus, eventually finding their place and adding depth and beauty to the paintings.

Each of Beth's paintings is the result of a sustained process of transcription: from sketches, to watercolour, to paint on canvas.

Daniel Butterworth has been practicing as an artist for twenty years. In that time Daniel has exhibited in Flinders Lane Melbourne, as well as the Bridget McDonnel gallery in Hampton, Victoria.

Daniel has exhbited and been a finalist in every major portrait prize in Australia, including the Archibald, Doug Moran, Blake, BP Portrait, Muswellbrook and more.

Daniels recent work predominantly is large scale, oil on paper using himself as the subject.

His studio is in Kyneton, Victoria. Daniel's expertise lies in Portraiture, self portraits are a recurring theme. 

Artist CV Daniel Butterworth

Exhibitions and Commission

2019 finalist Arthur Guy memorial painting prize

Finalist naked and nude

Finalist Brisbane portrait prize

Semi finalist Doug Moran Portrait Prize

2018 finalist Muswellbrook art prize

Finalist black swan portrait prize

Finalist Alice Prize

Finalist Blake

Solo show Darling Harbour Sydney

Survivor series Melbourne DAX Center

2017 bp portrait prize semi finalist

Semi finalist doug moran portrait prize

2017 when the black dog bites

VAC Latrobe gallery Bendigo

Ballarat Art Gallery Survivor series Supported Peter Blenkiron

2016 finalist Archibald Portrait Prize [opened Archibald when it went to Ballarat]

Art works group show

2015 semi-finalist for Doug Moran portrait Prize

Finalist for Black Swan portrait Prize

Commission Roma

DMROS open studios

Permanent exhibit at Royal George hotel Kyneton

Art Works Gallery Kyneton

Little gallery Trentham group show

2014 Finalist for the Paul Guest Drawing Prize

Semi-finalist for the Doug Moran Portrait Prize

Solo show Still naked faces Brunswick Street Gallery Melbourne

Artist in residency Overnewton

Mad gallery Lancefield Group show

Selected for travelling exhibition with the Forever Young Choir

Selected for the DMROS open studios

2013 Finalist Doug Moran Portrait Prize

B.S.G. [Brunswick street gallery] group show

Macedon ranges art trail

2012

Commission Boschen

Commission Raybould

Remain calm stockrooms Kyneton

Short listed Percival portrait prize Townsville

Commission Wilkes

Commission Oak ridge winery

Oak ridge winery solo show

Taste It Stockroom Kyneton Solo Exhibition

Commission David Pagham

Commission Caroline Chesterfield

2010 Doug Moran finalist

B.S.G. [Brunswick street gallery] painting prize

B.S.G. [Brunswick street gallery] works on paper

Commission - Davey

Commission - Jackson

Commission - Barber

2009 Commission - Chambers

Commission - Thompson

Commission - Davey

Permanent exhibit Mad Gallery Lancefield

2008 Grief and Loss exhibition Castlemaine Art Gallery

Exhibition- group show Mad Gallery Lancefield

Stage props for school production

Worked with students from primary school to produce public display

2007 Portrait commission - Sacred Heart College fundraiser

Mad Gallery Selected artist for Youth fund raiser

2006 Self-portrait exhibition Castlemaine Art Gallery

Commission - Adams

2005 Created the book “I am a lighthouse.” with Matthew Butterworth

2004 “We are in Love” Span Galleries, Melbourne

“Because we Rock” Mad Gallery Lancefield

2003 “The People’s Project” 30 public art projects through out Victoria

2002 “Yeah Yeah” Span Galleries, Melbourne

Jakarandah drawing prize finalist

2001“Horizon 01” BHG & S Gallery, Kyneton

Hutchins art prize The Hutchins school Tasmania

Darebin works on paper

Williamstown work on paper

Two faced Span Galleries melbourne

2000 “14 Go”Bendigo Regional Art Gallery

Hutchins art prize The Hutchins school Tasmania

Mornington pennisula works on paper

Swan hill print and drawing aquisition

1999Sibling Rivalry”Span Galleries - 45 Flinders Lane Melbourne

Mornington pennisula works on paper

Education

2005-2006 Diploma of Education Latrobe University –Bundoora

1995-1998 Bachelor of Fine Arts Latrobe University - Bendigo

1994-1995 Advanced Certificate in Loddon Campaspe College of Tafe - Bendigo

art and Design

1993 Certificate in Vocational Studies Vocational Training Bureau of The State

Training Board - Bendigo

1989-1992 Apprenticeship in Sign writing Melbourne College of Decoration -

Melbourne   

Scott Denholm is a rapidly emerging and award winning ocean artist, living at beautiful Moffat Beach on the Sunshine Coast. Created entirely eco friendly, Scott's stunning and emotionally provocative contemporary ocean and surf paintings have captures a national and international audience.

Scott’s inspiring contemporary and abstract ocean scenes are a reflection of the surfing fraternities endless search for the perfect wave – freedom, raw power, perfection and untouched beauty – the state in which all oceans and surf breaks should be conserved indefinitely. His attention to detail and appetite to experiment and improve means his style is constantly maturing and finding new ways to keep fans and collectors stoked.

Rita Kirkman was born an artist. She has been using pastel since she was 11 years old and had her first paid portrait commission at 17. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988. Meanwhile, in 1986 she began a 12 year career sketching quick portraits at amusement parks, and in 1988 she began a business drawing detailed pencil portraits from client photos.

Since 2003, Kirkman has improved her own style and technique with pastel through independent study and workshops with renowned artists each year. This effort has been consistently rewarded with major awards in national and international competitions. Her work has been featured in the Pastel Journal and the Pratique des Arts Spécial Pastel, and published in many others. She is a Signature member of the Pastel Society of America and an Eminent Pastelist with the International Association of Pastel Societies. Her portraits and paintings are in private collections all over the world, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Africa and Australia. 

Gail Sibley was born to artistic parents, and brought up in Kingston, Jamaica. These years in the Caribbean undoubtedly has influenced her palette while the encouragement and support of her parents influenced the direction Gail was to take towards the arts. Gail’s subjects include figures, still life, and plein-air scenes of urban and rural life, created locally or while travelling internationally. Viewers and collectors marvel at the vibrant colours and light in Gail’s work which breath special life into perceptions of every day scenes.

Gail has participated in national and international shows and her work is in private and corporate collections in several countries. In addition to being a full-time artist, Gail delivers well-received workshops in drawing and pastels. 

Artist Statement:

I have two art processes – one is a response to the outside world of ‘reality’ and the other is a response to the work itself, one that follows an inner sense. The medium for both processes can be pastel, acrylic, charcoal or oil.

In the first process, I paint what I see, often the mundane things in life – two pears, a vase of tulips, a couple conversing outside a restaurant, laundry in the wind. These are the ordinary parts of our lives, often invisible until attention is put on them, yet those small moments of experience can make us glad to be alive. Every day I see some combination of light and shadow or colour that begs to be painted and some days I am lucky enough to have the time, the intention, and the confidence to capture the feeling of what I have seen.

In the second process, reacting to the artwork itself, takes for me, more bravery, more determination, more detachment from what is already on the canvas; I must surrender to its needs, not mine. I let the piece lead the way rather than dictating the outcome.

The beginning is paint, collage, gel – scored or mounded, anything that creates a surface of colour and texture. This is a time of play and freedom of expression. Then I look and ponder what is offered. I refine that offering, little by little, by emphasizing the shapes that have revealed themselves. And then I look and look again. I either continue on the journey that is in progress or, as happens all too often especially when I am dissatisfied with what is there, I take a new road and things change and there is suddenly a new vista. And so this process continues – looking, painting, looking, painting – until the work has nothing more to tell me. The conversation has ended and so the piece is finished.

Susan Nethercote is an abstract floral and botanical artist based in Ballarat, Australia. Following her degree with Honours in Fine Art, Susan lectured and tutored at Melbourne University before moving on to establish the independent clothing label Manque Design which she successfully operated for 15 years.  After having children and moving to Ballarat, Susan quickly established a prolific painting practice.

In addition to maintaining a significant online presence, Susan sells her artwork globally, licenses to various lifestyle, fashion, and decor brands worldwide, hosts the ‘Studio Insider Art’ podcast with over 227,000 listens, and teaches via online classes and live workshops. In 2018 she hosted an artists’ retreat in the south of France. Her first solo exhibition in 2022, ‘Autumnal Dreamscapes’ at the Old Butcher’s Shop Gallery in Ballarat was a sell-out success and she has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions. Susan’s second solo show will take place at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in March/April 2024. Susan was the 2022/23 winner of the AGES Society Art Prize. In 2024 she is commencing her MA in Visual Art at Federation University.

Artist Sandi Griffin is a self-taught artist who discovered a passion for art and painting through life in general. Living on the Gold Coast and her love of International travel, Sandi’s work is inspired by life’s beautiful surroundings from the sea to the hinterland and beyond. Sandi incorporates her love of landscapes, colours and textures into her artwork.

With over 10 years experience, Sandi delivers art classes to all skill levels with an array of mediums extending from Acrylic, soft pastels, oil and coloured pencils . Sandi brings to her students creative, well planned and scaffolded workshops that build on prior knowledge and skill set to create mastery in all things art.

Together with teaching Sandi has especially been commissioned on many custom and creative pieces for personal and professional spaces. Sandi can tailor any piece to suit any home or business needs.

Sandi creates a relaxing environment that allows learning to be enjoyable and fun.

Chan Dissanayake is a multi-award winning watercolour artist living in Canberra, Australia. He is a highly regarded tutor and a well-respected judge of local and regional art awards. Over the last 15 years his passion has turned to watercolour. A medium that thrives in spontaneous response and free expression. His mastery in watercolour is manifested by the vast varying subject matter that he tackles from rural landscapes, urban city scapes to coastal seascapes. In 2017, Chan received the ultimate accolade for an Australian Watercolourist when he was elected to the elite Australian Watercolour Institute. Known for his innovative approaches to teaching and generosity in sharing his knowledge, Chan has gained considerable reputation as an outstanding tutor and conducts workshops throughout the country as well as leading International Painting tours. currently he teaches watercolour at the ANU (Australian National University). He has contributed many articles to leading art publications including Australian Artist and Artists Palette. His quick and direct approach to watercolour has earned him much success and respect both nationally and internationally. Currently his work is represented at the Bungendore woodworks gallery, Bungendore.

Artist's Statement

"My works represent my inner response to the world around me. As an artist, my aim is to capture an impression of my subject with as little detail as possible. This is done by simplifying the subject matter to its core elements. I find that watercolour is a tailor made medium for this purpose. Watercolour is a demanding medium. It is paramount that one learns the language of watercolour. Only then you can command it to do its magic for you.”

Born in Mildura, Craig has shown an interest in art and drawing from a very young age and has created a successful career as a professional artist.

In 1970, the family moved to the Western District of Victoria and Craig's love of art and artistic interests extended into ceramics
and sculpture.
Craig has constructed several wood fired kilns for this purpose. You could say "it fired his imagination".

Studying art at Ballarat University, painting and graphic design claimed most of his attention allowing him to pursued a successful career in illustrator as a member of the Illustrators Association of Australia
for many years.
Craig has skills in a range of mediums including computer graphics.
He taught both traditional drawing, illustration and digital drawing at both Victoria University and Swinburne University.

Craig never lost his love of using traditional methods and now specializes in watercolour, acrylic painting and illustration.

In 2001, Craig had his first major solo exhibition in Mt Eliza, Victoria. There have been many exhibitions and awards since.

Craig's work has been accepted by Galleries around Australia, Singapore, SE Asia and California, USA as well a many private collections and is in strong demand today.

I am Vinaya, an artist, an engineer (not so much), wife and a mother of a gorgeous little monkey and our family lives in Sydney, Australia. 

Painting is something that keeps me alive, brings me joy and gives me a sense of purpose and belonging and that's what I want to convey through my artwork.

I hope my artwork brings to the viewer some calm, happiness, grace and peace.

I'm enjoying watercolours at the moment and trust me to shift to any medium any time because the truth is "I'm in love with the whole process of making art" and the medium is just a tool.

One loves a lot of tools, right? I know you get me!

Bronwyn is an emerging artist from the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Her artworks are a response to the positive and negative shapes, textures, lines, shadows and reflections she sees all around her. She uses a variety of techniques to reveal underlying layers that create depth and movement in her visually exciting and expressive artworks. Bronwyn has exhibited in group and juried shows both in Sydney and the Sunshine Coast and has been the recipient of a number of awards.

Bronwyn is an intuitive painter who thrives on the luscious properties of paint and the expressive marks she can make, not just with a brush, but with an array of tools and techniques. Her artworks are characterised by the layering of pigment as she explores the idea of looking through, into and between the objects within each piece. Her process involves an initial period of playful exploration where she concentrates on building layers and expressive mark making. She continues to act and respond to what is developing in front of her; a dance of lights and darks, cools and warms as her composition gradually emerges. Bronwyn's artworks are striking from a distance but provide so much more when you get in close, with a feeling of discovering something new each time you take a look.

Turiya Bruce is a mixed media artist from the Byron Shire, where she has grown as an artist throughout her career. Turiya summarises her approach to art, saying "Although intelligent, my intelligence has always been an intuitive one, where I follow my curious impulses rather than a straight line and repeat my 'style'."

Turiya has a love for technique and has explored many different forms and approaches, finding synthesis, especially with Mixed Media. She is also a Golden Artist Educator being trained by Golden Paints in 2010 and has been regularly teaching since then. Turiya works mostly with Acrylics, although her work with Golden involved finding an infinite range of possibilities in combinations and applications, giving life to new territory and artistic techniques. Turiya loves to share her experiments and approaches with her students and she encourages them to be courageous, eclectic and unique.

Turiya always brings a range of visual and technical stimulation to her classes, looking for new ways to apply paint and marks on creative surfaces. Any experience with Turiya is sure to deliver a day of fun and creative chaos with surprising results!

Award winning painter, instructor and author Tony Allain has been painting for over 40 years. A self-taught painter of colour, light and movement with a complete understanding of his surroundings. Born and raised on Guernsey in the Channel Islands he moved to paint and live in Cornwall, UK to capture the unique clarity of light living on the peninsular of the West Country. Tony has exhibited extensively over the years, his work can be found in many leading galleries as well as private and corporate collections worldwide, including the Maritime Museum, Guernsey and Queen Mary 2, Cunard Ocean Liner. He has exhibited with The Pastel Society of America in New York, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, London, The International Pastel Exhibition, Suzhou, China and the Pastel Society, Mall Galleries, London. A move to New Zealand in 2006 proved to be a turning point in his career with the acceptance as a Master of the Pastel Artists of New Zealand.

His work is regularly featured in The Artist Magazine, the Pastel Journal and the Practique des Arts

He is a member of The Pastel Society, London,UK

Associatemember of The Royal Society of Marine Artists, London, UK

Asignaturemember of the Pastel Society of America

A member of the Master Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies.

A member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.

A member of the Red Rocks Pastel Society

A member of the German Pastel Society

A member of the Arizona Pastel Artists Association

Tony now lives and works from his studio in Scotland.

"My passion will always be the landscape, it is why I became an artist. I want to share my vision of the world I see. Colour and light is my motivation for choosing a subject. The light sparkling on the water, the colour reflected in the landscape. I favour the early morning or late afternoon to capture these effects. I think an artist has to allow their surroundings to firstly reveal itself in a way that helps them share their vision with others.

The quest for perfection can bring with it fear of making mistakes and can result in a style which can seem inhibited. I am not interested in pure representation; my work is about responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or interior. The most precious thing we artist have is our visual language." Tony Allain

The simple painted impression – when done well nothing much is more pleasing to my eye. Here, brush marks are respected, both for their potential and execution and a good impression will have them dancing and scything – cut sharp and clean- with deliberate economy across the canvas or paper. What a simple, yet elusive pleasure it is!

Greg Allen has earned the reputation as one of Australia’s foremost watercolour artists. He is also a remarkable teacher who can analyse and explain the features of composition and technique which contribute to excellence.

Armed with a passion to draw and blessed with creative parents – his father was a noted architect – Greg Allen began to develop a precocious understanding of design and materials, and the stuff of art, in his teenage years. Allen was born in Australia in 1958 and studied at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne. He established himself as a professional artist when he was 23 and had his first solo exhibition that same year.

In 1982 he was awarded the prestigious Camberwell Rotary Travel Scholarship for five months of study and travel in Europe. In 1990 he studied pastel painting under Daniel Greene in New York. In 1991 he won the Alice Bale Watercolor Prize. He has won the Camberwell Rotary Watercolor Prize twice, in 1990 and 2000, and has 24 other major First Prizes and Best of Show Awards for watercolor. Greg is a much sought after tutor and has been a guest lecturer at Melbourne University.

Jessie Rose Ford is a botanical artist based in Thornbury. After she completed studies in Graphic Design and Illustration in 2011, she developed an interest in creating plant subjects through watercolour painting. As part of this process she discovered Botanical Art, which allowed her to align two interests – the natural environment and art – as a chosen profession. She undertook lessons at the Botanical Gardens, Melbourne with the excellent guidance of Mali Moir to further develop her practice.

Jessie now runs workshops, term classes and private lessons around Melbourne and Australia. In 2018 she embarked on a workshop tour around NSW, VIC and QLD which included an Artist Residency at the Cairns Botanical Gardens. She has received two prestigious awards including the Celia Rosser Medal for Botanical Art during The Art of Botanical Illustration 2018 at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Melbourne for her Barringtonia asiatica painting, and the Highly Commended Award during ReFraming Nature 2015 for her Argonauta nodosa painting.

Jessie’s botanical pieces celebrate the intrinsic beauty in nature. An exhibiting artist, her most recent show in Sydney showcased the cross-sections of flowers, each painted with selective colour palettes. Through her botanical art Jessie focuses on bringing us closer to the natural environment, and highlights the connection formed between artist and plant through the process of observing and recording each incredible detail. 

Stephie Clark is a soft pastel obsessed artist from Australia working mostly in her country studio at home in Armidale. She divides her time between painting in her studio and teaching workshops both here in Australia and overseas in France. Stephie is best known for her free and flowing florals and fruits her style uninhibited by rules and boundaries. She is inspired by the nature and colours it produces. Stephie’s work has been featured in french magazine Practique des Arts and you can see her in action on her Patreon site. Stephie sells her art in her online shop around the world.

Gary’s art is immediately identifiable, with a deep connection to the outback landscape and a passion for the history of Australia.

His style is unique, abandoning the traditional norms of landscape painting.

Having held over 45 solo exhibitions - the first at Brisbane's Dunwell Gallery, Rowe’s Arcade Brisbane in 1971, his artworks are highly sought after throughout Australia as well as by overseas collectors. His engaging interpretation of the Australian landscape has led to overseas exhibitions in Brighton, England and in Shanghai, China.

Currently he is represented in 6 galleries across the eastern States including Tasmania, and exhibits on a regular basis with Kevin Hill, as a Top Ten Australian Artist. He is an exhibitor and visiting tutor at the Sydney Art School and tutors for the Combined Art Societies of Sydney as well as from his own Studio.

Collections, Commissioned Works and Awards

When Gary is not in the field or in the studio painting, he sustains a busy schedule travelling for inspirational subjects and exhibiting his works. As a well-recognised and professional Australian artist, his work has been acquired for private, corporate and educational institution collections in Australia and overseas. Most recently for Westfield and Lend Lease.

Gary has competed and attained awards in many art competitions spanning the last 50 years. Most recently, Gary as been a finalist in the prestigious Hornsby Art Prize and the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. He is highly sort after to judge art competitions.

Personal Inspiration

Gary was born in Brisbane where, in his teens, he received private art tuition from the late David Fowler. An early career as a cartographer, then as an illustrator and working in the graphics industry is evident in his use of colour and composition. His extensive travels have given Gary a love of the Australian landscape that has been the central theme for this artwork for over five decades.

Gary is a full-time artist, residing in Maleny in Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast hinterland, where his family dates back four generations. It is here that he has been inspired to use a colourful and dramatic approach to his varied subjects.

Walking and drawing outside is fundamental to my creative practice. A wild and rugged coast always attracts me, as does walking in the Australian bush. Turning on my observational eye is a conscious choice – finding unexpected glimpses of colour, the effects of rapidly changing light and weather on land, sky and sea and constantly shifting around to find interesting perspectives. I am a landscape painter, but with an abstracted edge. My works are not ‘views’, but a combination of elements that I have observed, challenging the conventional notion of realism. There are multiple moments in almost all my works, nothing remains static for long in the landscape.

Large paintings start on location, with quick energetic drawings – exploring with mark making. A frequent traveller, my sketchbooks are essential for exploring new places around the world – drawings always leave me with powerful memories. Landscape paintings develop more slowly in my Sydney art studio. The process is intuitive and the outcome unknown, so I value the energy triggered by the constant experimentation I need to bring to each painting. Works evolve in multiple layers using high quality, colour saturated, acrylic and oil paints to create contemporary Australian landscapes.

The need for the human spirit to be connected to the natural environment is more relevant than ever; my work aims to bring the ‘outside in’.

Everything just feels better when immersed in nature.

Debbie

I am an Australian pencil artists. My aim is to magnify everyday objects. My work allows the opportunity for the audience to develop a new appreciation of everyday items by drawing them as stand alone larger than life pieces.

I started out working in graphite and transitioned to colour pencil. By challenging myself to recreate and appreciate fine details I have developed my colour pencil skills to allow the viewer to feel a familiarity to the subjects.

I am constantly challenging myself to push to new levels of details by working in umerous pencils layers and exploring new techniques which I happily share in my workshops.

Practising Brisbane artist, Isabella Allis, teaches portraiture, still life and landscapes in various mediums including oils, charcoal, graphite and coloured pencils. Best known for her portraits in oils, Isabella works on a commission basis and has entered many competitions. Her portrait of Dr Jeannette Young (now Governor of Queensland) was a finalist in the inaugural 2019 Brisbane Portrait Prize. Her love of dance is evident in her figurative artworks as can be seen in “Picnic I” which won the 2021 Petite Pieces competition at Aspire Gallery. Isabella finds a lot of joy in working with students to develop their skills and define their personal journey in art.

John is an energetic outdoor painter who works almost exclusively in oils and is stimulated by the strong light of the Australian landscape. He is particularly enthusiastic about the districts from the Blue Mountains to Mudgee in The Central West artistically. He enjoys painting the landscape from life, “en plein air”, and engages in regular painting trips to country locations. John lives in the village of Mulgoa on the western fringes of Sydney, providing a lot for an artist to digest both aesthetically and culturally as a central location for the Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains and Sydney.

John has won many awards for his artworks and has held twelve very successful solo exhibitions and numerous joint exhibitions. He has works in private collections throughout Australia and abroad and is an Associate member of the Royal Art Society. John has almost forty years teaching experience and conducts regular workshops and demonstrations at his studio and for local art societies.

TONY ALLAIN PS. PSA. ARSMA. MC/IAPS. MPANZ.

Award winning painter, instructor and author Tony Allain has been painting for over 40 years. A self-taught painter of colour, light and movement with a complete understanding of his surroundings. Born and raised on Guernsey in the Channel Islands he moved to paint and live in Cornwall, UK to capture the unique clarity of light living on the peninsular of the West Country. Tony has exhibited extensively over the years, his work can be found in many leading galleries as well as private and corporate collections worldwide, including the Maritime Museum, Guernsey and Queen Mary 2, Cunard Ocean Liner. He has exhibited with The Pastel Society of America in New York, the Royal Society of Marine Artists, London, The International Pastel Exhibition, Suzhou, China and the Pastel Society, Mall Galleries, London. A move to New Zealand in 2006 proved to be a turning point in his career with the acceptance as a Master of the Pastel Artists of New Zealand.

His work is regularly featured in The Artist Magazine, the Pastel Journal and the Practique des Arts

.

He is a member of The Pastel Society, London,UK

Associatemember of The Royal Society of Marine Artists, London, UK

Asignaturemember of the Pastel Society of America

A member of the Master Circle of the International Association of Pastel Societies.

A member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast.

A member of the Red Rocks Pastel Society

A member of the German Pastel Society

A member of the Arizona Pastel Artists Association

Tony now lives and works from his studio in Scotland.

My passion will always be the landscape, it is why I became an artist. I want to share my vision of the world I see. Colour and light is my motivation for choosing a subject. The light sparkling on the water, the colour reflected in the landscape. I favour the early morning or late afternoon to capture these effects. I think an artist has to allow their surroundings to firstly reveal itself in a way that helps them share their vision with others.

The quest for perfection can bring with it fear of making mistakes and can result in a style which can seem inhibited. I am not interested in pure representation; my work is about responses to the moods and atmospheres generated by landscape, still life or interior. The most precious thing we artist have is our visual language.

Natalie Eslick is a full time artist and chief of staff to two kitties, living just north of Sydney. While she was always going to be an artist 'when I grow up', Natalie actually ended up in academic and managerial roles for over 20 years until an episode of utter burn-out saw her picking up a graphite pencil for the first time in decades... and she has hardly put it down again since! As a fine artist and creative guide, Natalie is deeply connected to the process and nurturing of intentional creativity, with a lens of compassion and reciprocity. Natalie primarily uses graphite, coloured pencils and watercolour, though is branching out into oil paintings now too.

When Natalie first came back to creating art, she was instantly drawn (all puns intended) to realistic renderings, though found herself absorbed in a lot of imaginative realism, much of it based in myth and lore, which are still very big passions of hers. Over time she found she was incorporating more and more animals and birds into her drawings until she realised that is what really interested her – realistic honourings of wildlife and the natural world. Moving from graphite to coloured pencil was the perfect medium to slowly and intentionally dive into the incredible intricate details of our non-human kin, and the more she worked on creating pieces that portrayed their personhood, their inherent magic, the more devoted she became. To Natalie, her work is a form of advocacy too – she wants to inspire more people to stop and really connect with nature, with their non-human kin, and be humbled by how much beauty is all around us that we forget to see let alone acknowledge in our busy modern lives.

Today, you’ll find Natalie in her little corner of Australia striving to live an intentional life – one brimming with wonder and curiosity and abundant respect and reverence for nature and our non-human kin.

Kate is an oil painter based in Brisbane, Australia – working out of her home studio. She loves to paint still life, especially florals, fruit, textiles, ceramics and vessels.

You can follow me on instagram or facebook @katequinnart

Shows and Awards

2021 Solo Show Wild Canary Art

2020 Jumbled Online Art Superstar

2020 & 2021 Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Awards

2020 & 2021 Brunswick St Gallery Fifty Squared Art Prize

2021 'Inside this Box' Exhibition at Corner Store Gallery

2021 Inverell Contemporary Exhibition

2017 Little Things Art Prize Finalist

Jacob is an American pastel artist, based in Maine who creates beautiful landscapes. He has always had a deep love for the outdoors and discovered his adoration for pastel landscapes through Richard McKinley's work. Throughout his pastel studies, Jacob has travelled with artists including McKinley, as well as Albert Handell, Clark Mitchell, and Marla Baggetta. Jacob has also been accepted into several national shows, including IAPS, Pastel Society of the West Coast, Northwest Pastel Society, Pastel Painters of Maine, and Pastel Painter Society of Cape Cod. 

A man of many talents, Jacob is also a practising naturopathic doctor in Maine while balancing his art career. He says having his feet in two very different worlds enables an enriched perspective on life and art. He regularly teaches pastel classes, plein air, and workshops nationally and internationally.

Nicholas Broughton is a contemporary and innovative artist who considers a day without painting to be incomplete. He has lived in various countries such as Brazil, England, Thailand and currently Australia which has contributed to his fascination for the vibrancy of life that he confidently depicts in his art.

His most formative years were spent in Brazil where he learned to adapt to a fascinating scene of different cultural backgrounds and traditions. The Brazilian artist Di Cavalcanti was an early influence but as he started painting seriously, the influence of Picasso, Modigliani and Chagall has dominated his canvases.

The memories of his time in Brazil are Nicholas’ inspiration for his unique Favela series. He creates these ‘shanty towns’ using a base of bitumen to heighten the contrast of colours and textures. Gold leaf is a regular addition to the windows which gives the effect of lights being turned on, depending on the angle of the viewer.

“My Favela paintings do not have to be considered beautiful as long as they make people think and instill a feeling of gratitude for their present status,” says Nicholas.

Nicholas enjoys experimenting with style, colour and textures as he tries to create the perfect picture. His clarity of idea, image and distinctive sense of colour attest to his daring individual stance in making powerful impassioned statements. “To me, making art is an outlet for creativity and the release of a lifetime’s experience. A painting should tell a tale and does not have to be precise or beautiful. Colour, texture, composition and subject matter are juggled together and every now and again, the end result is satisfactory.”

Passionate about making art accessible for all, Nicholas regularly donates his time and his paintings to various children’s charities. It is important for him to use his craft to bring colour and joy to any room, as well as to provide the means of helping troubled children with hope and help.

“A painting should grab your attention whatever the subject, it should always evoke an emotion and give a room a sense of atmosphere. I’m really happy that my work is also going to assist the Abused Child Trust provide a bit of help and hope for abused children.” Nicholas often leaves his works untitled.

To Nicholas, works of art seem to change in meaning depending on what mood he is in and who is showing them to. He believes the paintings should take you in a certain emotional direction but the real pleasure should come between the personal interactions with each piece of art. People see things differently, feel things differently and react to life differently, therefore a piece of art forms a unique relationship with each individual.

Natasha Ruschka is a Brisbane Australia based artist who creates colorful and painterly oil paintings. Her passion for oil painting started when she lived in Colorado and immersed herself in the Denver art community learning to paint oils in the "Alla Prima" (direct painting) style. She loves the buttery texture of oils and enjoys the process of mixing colours in this tactile medium. Painting wet on wet is how she produces fresh, loose and visible brush strokes that give her paintings a playful energy.

Natasha enjoys transforming simple life subjects into colourful scenes that are bright and happy and capture on canvas the often missed beauty around us. Being able to take a simple object like a piece of fruit, a flower or a tea cup, and transform it into a beautiful and interesting vignette with only oil paints feels like a superpower. Since returning to Australia the native flora and fauna of her homeland has been inspiring her work. She enjoys creating large expressive florals, light infused still life scenes and loose painterly landscapes.

Natasha was a finalist in the 2022 Darcy Doyle Art Awards and won 1st Prize at the Aspects Art Show.  She has placed as a finalist in a number of Art shows and won 1st Prize Oil Painting at the Brookfield Art Show.

Most days Natasha is active on social media and responds to comments there. 

Julie Goldspink is a multi award winning artist who travels throughout Australia doing workshops and demonstrations.  Her preferred medium is watercolour but she also works in oil, acrylic, mixed media, collage and pastel.  Julie's work covers landscapes, seascapes, riverscapes, flowers and still life and she describes herself as a Realist Impressionist.  

Julie was self-taught from an early age and her formal education came later.  It includes Fine Art studies at TAFE, ten years at Mitchell College Summer/Winter schools studying watercolour and portraiture and a BA at CSU majoring in Fine Arts and Textiles.  Julie's accomplishments include having held solo and combined exhibitions and she has exhibited in many major exhibitions including the Dalian Art Museum China 2016, the Taiwan & Australia International Exhibition 2020 and the International Watercolour Exhibition held in WA 2020.  Julie has 20 years experience as a teacher/demonstrator/workshops, is a member of the prestigious Australian Watercolour Institute and a Fellow of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists.

John Wilson has been a full time Artist and Tutor for 45 years. John’s great expertise and experience make him one of the countries leading tutors of Australian Landscape. John grew up in the beautiful Blue Mountains which instilled a deep love of the rugged grandeur, the spectacular colours and the many moods unique to our Australian landscape.  Whilst he was always fascinated by paintings and artists, John didn't pursue his interest in art with real seriousness until his mid twenties.  He had worked professionally as a musician and wandered into painting as a hobby.  It was not long before he decided to devote himself completely to becoming an Artist.

John has won 82 major awards and has had 50 solo exhibitions including London, USA, Canada, Japan, China, and Korea. His work is considered highly collectable and is held in private and corporate collections both here and internationally. John is a Fellow of the Royal Art Society of NSW and Patron of the Society of Mountain Artists.

I’m a young Gold Coast Artist who started experimenting with watercolours in early 2017, and eventually went on to teach myself all about colours and pigments

Since then I’ve become a self taught paint maker and created a small business (ChelseaVenzArt) selling my handmade watercolours all over the world and helping other artists learn to make paint for themselves 

Natalie Popovski AKA Nat Pop is an artist currently based on the Gold Coast who has been exhibiting for the last 4 years, including a solo show at the prestigious Tweed Regional Gallery. She is also the co-founder of Mint Art House, a collaborative studio in Burleigh Heads made up of 16 artists.

Her ongoing body of work, Absorption, is driven by an innate curiosity in humans. She uses the mundane as a way to highlight subtle nuances in individuals.

Solo Shows:
2022 - Absorption, Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW
2022 - Absorption, Art Post Uki, NSW
2021 - Absorption, Revival Art, Brisbane
2021 - One Night, Gold Coast QLD
2018 – Only Light Cast Shadows, Sofa Gallery, Currumbin QLD

Jessica Watts is an artist based in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. More than just an oil painter, she is known for her focus on materials and craftsmanship. Her works are a celebration of process, and are completely hand made, from start to finish. She employs a highly individual visual language, painting on backgrounds from wallpaper to cement to Australian hardwood veneers, creating an enchanting world where women with poetic tattoos are adorned in flowers and colourful birds perch and preen.

Her popular Pretty Boys are a fun, anthropomorphic series that delight in seeing the human in the birds around us. Assigning human traits to non-humans activates the part of the brain involved in social behavior and drives our emotional connection with animals and inanimate objects. Pretty Boy has more than one mirror in his bedroom, he chooses cocktails over beer and he’s never been camping in his life.

Jessica received a Bachelor of Design with Hons & the University Medal from the University of Technology Sydney before a long career working as a multi-award winning advertising art director, including working for a decade in New York. She has been a full time artist since 2010. In 2017 she teamed up with Tokyo art dealer Rocky Degawa and together they have staged many successful solo shows at the prestigious Bunkamura Gallery in Tokyo and throughout Japan. Jessica is also represented by Eclectic Gallery in London. She works in her loft studio in the company of her wonky blue-eyed dog Kevin.

Never too far away from the water, born and bred Gold Coast Artist, Renee Cross, shares her love for the Ocean through her beautiful paintings.

Specialising in Large Textured Seascapes, Renee sells her paintings online at Bluethumb and at The Broadbeach Art Gallery. Renee was thrilled to be a Finalist in her first competition for her painting 'Reef Break' in the Doyle Awards 2022.

Renee will teach you the fundamentals of painting in this one day Beginners Acrylic Painting class and is happy to share some of her secrets. 

Born in Melbourne, Nadine Dudek is a professional wildlife artist with a particular interest in painting birds. 

Nadine works solely in watercolour as the speed, fluidity and spontaneity of the medium works perfectly for the subjects she enjoys painting. She strives for minimalism in her work, finding the best paintings are those with the fewest strokes. Overworking is the nemesis of watercolour, and developing the patience to sit back and let the paint do the work is one of the fundamental skills of mastering the technique. 

Nadine encourages her students to remember that it’s just a piece of paper, and not every detail has to be painted to make a compelling piece of art. 

Australian painter Judy Drew was born in 1951. Her passion for the Post-Impressionism period and the influence of Japanese art in the late 1880’s, along with her creative sense of colour and form, allow Judy to create beautiful and modern work, even though Judy’s work is contemporary she retains a touch of sentiment in all her pieces.

Her rich and textured pastels convey her emotion and love for this medium creating refreshing and strong compositional work, which is sensitive to the subject matter. Judy’s love for figurative work and her sensitive portraits of the Bougainville people gained local and international attention whilst living and working on Bougainville Island in papua New Guinea from 1976-1984. 

After living in Papua New Guinea, Judy returned to Melbourne and continued to concentrate on her figurative work and still life compositions. 

She studied Graphic Art at Prahran College of Art in Melbourne and has been recognized with numerous Awards including the Omega Contemporary Art Prize and the Portrait Prize, Melbourne Savage Club.

With sell-out exhibitions, Judy’s reputation continues to soar as one of Australia’s most talented and exciting female artists.

It starts with our idea of 'Living The Dream'.  The big change we made just over 3 years ago was selling everything we had worked for the last 27 year and moved to the country to start a farm in rural Queensland, Australia.  Becoming fairly self-sufficient in the process.

We had been running our own sign manufacturing business for 27 years and just became bored with doing the same thing and sick of dealing with customers I suppose.  Sick of paying the tax man and not seeing any real growth.  Kind of a catch 22 really, the more we made, the more bills we had.

Our kids were starting to finish high school and get jobs of their own and that gave us the thought, that once they had all left the nest, nothing was actually holding us back from doing anything we wanted.  We actually started to seriously consider what life could be like if we sold both our business and home and moved to a farm.

The main driving force behind our decision was to have an early semi-retirement and actually enjoy life while we were still young and not have the pressure of making money or for that fact relying on money.  The best thing about what we did was deciding we could become self-sufficient to an extent.  So from spending crazy amounts on bills every year, we were able to knock those right down and reduce the stress surrounding them.

So we are now happily semi-retired living on our little farm for the past three years.  Having absolutely no experience with animals other than the family pets, I am really proud of what we have achieved.  We now run up to 30 head of cattle, 11 sheep, 15 chickens, 10 ducks and grow our own vegetables.

This move also opened up the opportunity to follow my passion which is Wildlife Art, so the first thing I did was join my local Art Society and started to get involved in my surrounding creative events.  This then lead to being asked to teach.  It had never crossed my mind before but it did get me thinking.  So I created some workshops that I have been teaching in my local area which have been going great and I found that I really love to teach and share what I know to help others get creating.

This is what inspired The Creative Barn Membership, to share my love of drawing animals and teach my techniques to others around the world, not just my local area.  I love how art helps you to relax and put anxiety and stress to one side while you are creating.  Plus it helps to raise your self esteem and gives you a sense of accomplishment.  This is what I want to share with everyone, especially during these hard times of lockdowns and uncertainty.

I want you to give yourself permission to draw and paint work that you love.  As artists we always struggle with the mindset of I'm not good enough.  It's a hard thing to create art from the heart and put it out there for others to see, because even if you don't ask for critique you will no doubt be told by someone what they think, either positive or negative, and even just one negative remark can crush you spirit and stop you creating, because art is so personal.

Emi Brener is a Uruguayan artist now based in Australia, after studying in New York, Philadelphia and Berlin. Her work is multidisciplinary and primarily deals with the human body, especially the way the female body is depicted in art.

Working primarily in mixed media works that poetically merge the mediums of oil painting and embroidery, Emi Brener aims to convey moments of human intimacy, nuance and experience. Brener’s work may be located in a painting tradition that combines raw depictions of the body with deep interior mental exploration; a tradition that ranges from expressionists such as Egon Schiele, to modern day painters such as Lucian Freud and Jenny Saville. As a young artist, Brener enriches this tradition with a subtle queer sensibility. One can clearly see in Brener’s work how the female gaze on the female body is connected to empathy instead of objectification, allowing a whole new way to look and experience to emerge. Inspired by thoughts and emotions borrowed from “found” texts, Brener looks to expose the vulnerability of the human experience through the meshing of written language and painting, while also highlighting the way we use our bodies to interact with one another. The results are paintings that often depict fragments of the human figure, never showing the entire body and some even applying a distorted close-up viewpoint, further deepening the work’s sense of intimacy.

Continue reading at https://somos-arts.org/emi-brener-under-the-skin/ | SomoS

Chris is an Australian artist based in Tasmania who specialises on portraiture. Classically trained in Florence, Italy at the Angel Academy of Art he works predominantly in charcoal and oil. Chris has been a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Lester Prize for Portraiture (WA) and more recently a finalist in the Portrait Society of America’s 3rd International ‘A View of Self’ competition/fundraiser. 

Sarah Abbott is an acrylic painter with a background in interior design. Originally from Queensland, Australia, she currently lives and works out of her family home in Fremantle, Western Australia, which she shares with her husband, 2 young children and a much-loved whippet. Her bright and colourful paintings primarily focus on still life, landscapes and Australian botanicals.

 Abbott describes her early years as “a barefoot country existence living off the grid” with her parents and 7 brothers and sisters, on 40 acres of bushland near Stanthorpe. The land was her parents share from the sale of a commune they had tried to keep afloat.

Abbott’s place as the creative child in her family was cemented early by the many hours she spent drawing and later honing her skill in perspective, colour and painting. 

 In 2004, Abbott graduated from Queensland University with a degree in interior design. An uncertain future as an artist was abandoned after school in favour of a more stable career path in interior design.  Sarah worked in interior design in both  Australia and London, where she specialised in high end cabinetry for the luxury residential market. It is this decade long small business experience that Abbott credits with helping her to build a loyal following of collectors and fans across the globe.

 In 2019 Abbott returned to painting after an extended leave from interior design following the birth of her second child. Abbott’s work has been featured in Inside Out Magazine; International Artist Magazine and in 2022 she was named by Vogue Living as one of ‘10 emerging artists to know from Melbourne’s Affordable Art Fair’.

Rod Gardner is an emerging Aboriginal artist who enjoy many areas of painting. His main subjects are those from the Aboriginal community and Launceston’s river and streetscapes. Rod is currently working in Watercolours, charcoal and prefers the plein air style of painting.

Rod’s pride and joy throughout all of his works is a piece called ‘The Spirit of the Game’ which depicted an Aboriginal man passing a football down to a younger Aboriginal kid. This was developed in consultation with the Aboriginal community and commissioned by the Rocherlea Football Club. The piece held significance as it represented the passing down of knowledge and pride to future generations.

Rod is self taught, learning online and through practice but was also fortunate to secure a grant through Arts Tasmania which seen him be mentored by prominent artist, Johnothan Bowden.

Named the Vita Brown Tasmanian Aboriginal Artist of the Year for 2018, Gardner is teaching watercolour painting in a central Launceston studio and holding his third solo art exhibition.

John, after years of teaching and with his children grown up, finally found the time to dedicate to my own passion, which is painting.  He began to practice his art full time.  

His striking paintings are realistic in style and done in acrylics on canvas.   He focuses predominately on landscapes, and the stunning natural beauty of Tasmania.

John continues to teach and share his knowledge and love of art running workshops and retreats around Tasmania.

Raymond Arnold was born in Victoria in 1950 and moved to Tasmania in 1983.  Under the influence of the island’s natural environment, Raymond developed his career to become a printmaker and painter of international reputation. Raymond’s legacy to Tasmanian art is well established and in 2006, he established Landscape Art Research Queenstown (LARQ), a non-profit studio and gallery in the mining town of Queenstown in Tasmania’s west, where he lives and works today.

Raymond’s works speak of the Western Tasmanian landscape like no other, masterfully describing, as if in geological time, the ongoing processes of restoration, resurrection and respite that this unique wilderness offers and endures. In his detailed prints, the velvet darkness of the etched line, skilfully describes the fleeting play of day light as it breaks over the facets of an ancient, troubled landscape. The works capture eons in instants, secret joys in darkness and shadows and softness in the harshest of places.

Raymond is a Glover Prize winning artist who has held more than 50 solo exhibitions and participated in group shows in Australia, Europe and the USA. His work can be found in the collections of the Imperial War Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Musee Courbet in France, as well as the National Gallery, the Australian Parliament House and all state galleries in Australia.

Ben Richardson was born in Lutruwita/Tasmania where he completed his Bachelor of Economics degree at the University of Tasmania in 1972. Soon after, he found himself working with resin and fibreglass on the long curves of surfboards before a developing interest in making with clay led him to undertake studies in ceramics at the School of Art in Hobart which he completed in 1981.That same year, Ben established Ridgeline Pottery, focusing on woodfiring and the use of indigenous raw materials in a place-based approach to craft making. He returned to formal study and completed a Master of Art, Design and Environment at the Tasmanian School of Art (UTAS) in 2004.

He has been designing and making his distinctive works for over twenty years after being introduced to wood firing techniques by renowned potters Les Blakebrough and Gwyn Hanssen-Pigott. A wood firing workshop conducted by Hanssen-Pigott just before she left Tasmania in 1980 gave him the stimulus to commit to working with local materials and firing with wood. He has maintained this commitment to an aesthetic based on indigenous materials by digging and preparing his own clay and grinding his own glaze materials. This processing provides the foundation for creating glazes and surfaces that convey both a way of thinking and a strong connection to the place of making. 

His work has a strong organic presence and an integrity of shape and form, surface and texture. He has studied wood-fired kiln building and firing techniques in Japan and in 2004 was invited to participate in an international wood firing workshop and conference in the United States, with his work selected for a juried international wood firing exhibition.

He is represented in major collections in Australia with work shown in national and international exhibitions.

Alongside his professional practice, Ben has acted as teacher, facilitator and coordinator with education providers such as TAFE and the Tasmanian School of Art, both in Hobart.