Oil on Board, 122cm x 80cm
I met the celebrated Australian ‘Contemporary Nature’ artist Caroline Deeble at an Endangered Heritage course learning to make paints using pure pigments like the Dutch masters. We hit it off straight away talking about my passion for portraiture and our mutual understanding of the creative mind and the artistic challenges of being an artist. I knew a little about Caroline and her amazing work before meeting her, as I’d watched her on the ‘Colour In Your Life’ TV series. I just knew I would love to paint her and learn more about her in the process.
I found Caroline to be a highly experienced and expressive artist and art tutor, with a unique style that explores the diversity in our natural world. Her preferred medium is watercolour and this has connected her to numerous other artists and galleries around the world and also opened up opportunities for her to expand the connection to exhibition and events in Australia, Europe and the USA.
In her portrait, my challenge was to create an authentic representation of an artist at a critical time in their journey, making decisions for an upcoming exhibition. As an artist this is a very personal and important time you need to get right and I was glad to be there in that moment to capture her thinking in this process. In the design of the pillow behind her and the pile of watercolours she is reviewing I present a brief glimpse into her artwork, its rich colours, movement and detailed patterns.
For over 30 years Caroline has distinguished herself through her art exploration of layers of colour and shadows, capturing the essence of Australia’s forests and free flowing waters. Her background in Fine Arts Education shines through as she generously shares her knowledge with students from around the world. Her artwork is also included in many private collections nationally & abroad and regionally, is featured as a permanent collection artist with Bungendore Woodworks Gallery.
In summary, I really appreciate the genuine passion Caroline has for sharing the importance of Art in our lives. Through her work I feel connected with the nature she explores. It was a pleasure painting her portrait and I’m thrilled she likes it too. Her paintings are inspiring for me, so have to ask you …..have you seen her website, its truly amazing.