There is a logical progression from my prints to portrait painting to wire abstracts. Initially I was a fine art printmaker using photo stencils to create landscape images with a rich surface texture. Needing a creative change, I started painting portraits with stencilled dots, dashes and lines to create a flickering feeling of light and colour. This led to abstract paintings using linear patterns to create an illusion of movement and space. Now I create the feeling of movement in actual 3D space in relief wire sculptures which appear to undulate as the viewer moves or the lighting changes the shadows.

I was born in England in 1952 and emigrated with my family when I was eight. I feel thoroughly Australian! From 1970-73 I studied at the National Art School in Sydney where I became particularly interested in screen printing and photography. Because of these skills, in 1974 I was employed by The Australian Museum in Sydney to work in their Exhibitions department. This employment was a wonderful education in the richness, wonder and beauty of Australia’s natural history and lesser known landscapes which became the subject matter of many of my art prints.

For several years I taught at Art School (Alexander Mackie College>City Art Institute>College of Fine Arts) and then worked as a freelance designer whilst pursuing my art career. Today I paint portraits and abstracts, and also work with wire to produce abstract sculptures. Since 2008, my studio and small gallery has been in the bottom of the historic Astor building in Sydney CBD.

I have had many solo exhibitions and been in many group exhibitions around Australia. My work is represented in Australian National, State and Regional Galleries, University, Library and other public collections, as well as corporate and private collections in Australia and overseas.

PRIZES AND COMMISSIONS SINCE 2010

2010 Portrait Commission – Dean of Medicine, Professor Peter Smith, for School of Medicine, The University of New South Wales, Sydney
2012
WINNER – Portia Geach Portrait Prize
2012 Portrait Commission – Louise Robert-Smith for Ascham School, Edgecliff, NSW
2013 Portrait Commission – Sir Bruce Ponder for the CRUK Institute, Cambridge University, UK
2015 WINNER – Gallipoli Art Prize
2016 WINNER – Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award
2016 Mailroom Prize – ‘Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award Exhibition’, Bega Valley Regional Gallery
2019 WINNER – Portia Geach Portrait Prize
2021 WINNER – Kennedy Art Prize

EXHIBITIONS SINCE 2015

2015
Gallipoli Art Prize Exhibition, Gallipoli Memorial Club, Sydney, NSW and Tour
‘Portia Geach Portrait Exhibition’, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney2016
‘Shirley Hannan National Portrait Awards Exhibition’, Bega Valley Regional Gallery
2017
‘Women in Focus’, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
‘Archibald Salon des Refuses’, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
2019
‘Portia Geach Portrait Exhibition’, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
‘The scene in which I find myself / Or, where does my body belong’, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, NZ
‘ Stopping Time: Material Prints 3000 BCE to Now’, Griffith University, QLD and tour to Gympie, Newcastle, Logan, Grafton and Townsville
2020
’50 years Gosford Art Prize • 1970 – 2020′, Gosford Regional Gallery, Gosford
‘Darling Portrait Prize’, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT
‘Reconnected: a recovery story’, Museum of Art and Culture, Lake Macquarie
‘Pub Rock’, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT and Tour
2021 ‘Archibald Salon des Refuses’, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney, The David Roche Foundation Gallery, Adelaide
‘Kennedy Prize Exhibition’, Royal South Australian Society of Arts, Adelaide SA