Biography

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 been shortlisted for many major art prizes including the Jacaranda Drawing Prize,  The Portia Geach Memorial Art Award, (Highly Commended), The Bendigo Drawing Prize, The CBSC Art Prize, The Hurford Portrait Prize, the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, The KAAF Art Award and the Ravenswood 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. 

 Artist Statement

My work is figuratively based and invariably incorporates animals. I am drawn to the aesthetics and lines of improbable looking creatures such as cheetahs, hyenas, dodos, tasmanian tigers and kangaroos.  I am intrigued by the point whereby the domesticated and civilised meets the wild and instinctual and how these opposing natures interact, inform and/or thwart each other. The animals; be they real beasts or imaginary monsters have been used over the years of my art practice, as a vehicle to express this conundrum.

At other times I have simply attempted to convey the ineffable beauty a wild thing stirs in me, to capture the strange and miraculous otherness that has in itself captured me and my attention. And also to speak of the great loss and sadness when a creature becomes, or tetters on the edge of extinction. My love of reading, both fiction and non-fiction, also strongly informs my art practice and has been the catalyst for many paintings and drawings including a body of work around the subject of mythical monsters.

In recent years I have also moved into the genre of portraiture. With both the animal and human artworks I strive to evoke the essential nature of my chosen subject matter. I see the actual process of focused drawing and painting as the means of incantation by which this is achieved.

For Kim Stark, painting is an evolving conversation between colour, nature, and the intuitive journey of the painting process. Born in 1984, Kim is an emerging Australian artist based in Northern Rivers, NSW.

Working primarily with oils and mixed media, she builds her paintings through layers of bold messy brushstrokes, pastel line work, and strong marks. Her process is deeply intuitive, embracing spontaneity and trust to create expressive, energetic works.

Although Kim has been painting for over 15 years, including designing textiles for 10 years for her previous business, Wheatbags Love, it was a transformative trip to Kakadu in 2023 that led her to finally embrace her path as a professional artist.

Now, from her Ocean Shores studio, Kim creates colourful abstract works inspired by nature and inner emotional landscapes."

Katie Pink is an emerging artist born in 1979 in Aotearoa, New Zealand, moved to Australia in 2005, and now lives on Bundjalung Country, Northern New South Wales.

She completed the three-year course at Byron School of Art in 2024 and is currently engaged in their alumni program.

Winner of Northern Rivers Community Gallery Graduation Prize. Her solo exhibition will be held there in October 2025.

In this series of works, Katie constructs her paintings on board using polyurethane, adding acrylic paint and pigment, blending them like a tasty cake icing. She lets layers appear and blend into a single form. Katie's paintings examine the tension between softness and hardness, showcasing pink tones alongside blacks and the warmth of golds.

DATES: 2025

SIZES: 1050x810 x 4

MEDUMS: on Boards ~ Polyurethane, Acrylic paint, Gold Chrome Spray Paint

EXHIBITIONS

2018 Group Exhibition - Pack Gallery, Bangalow NSW 

2019 Olive Cotton Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist - Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW

2021 Lethbridge Landscape Prize, Finalist – Lethbridge Gallery Brisbane QLD

2021 National Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist – National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

2021 Olive Cotton Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist – Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW

2022 Group Exhibition, Every Day Climate Crisis, Climarte Melbourne VIC

2022 Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award, Finalist - Lethbridge Gallery Brisbane QLD

2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist - National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

2022 HeadOn Portrait Awards 2022, Semi Finalist - Bondi, NSW

2022 Australian Photography Awards 2022, Semi Finalist, Melbourne, Vic

2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist - National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

COLLECTIONS

Francis Cloake’s work can be found in private collections in LA, Hong Kong and throughout Australia.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an emerging photographer in the later part of my life, having laid my camera down for a decade to pursue raising a family.

I am a multidisciplinary artist based in the Northern Rivers, NSW. My interest is in the urban landscape and the poetic beauty found in lines, shapes and shadows. My work is driven by finding the unusual and unexpected in the everyday.

Growing up in Denmark I was very influenced by my father and grandparents’ interest in architecture and design, in particular Arne Jacobsen who designed their houses and furniture. This kick started my passion for architecture and structural design. These formative years of my life have shaped the way I see the world and how it influences all aspects of my art practice; painting, photography drawing and collage.

The subject matter I tend to work with are structural elements. I am particularly interested in liminal spaces, reflections, pops of colour, larger shapes and line work, becoming integral parts of my compositions. I find interest in the often forgotten and overlooked corners between structures and the repetition found in shadows.

I use drawing and collage to explore the visual cues that capture my attention in every day life. My photography focuses on clean cut compositions and angles, layering images to create unexpected forms and find new inspiration for my paintings.

My process is very instinctive and spontaneous. I like to be ready with a few surfaces at a time so I can go for it, assess later and avoid overworking the one painting. I will generally work with one or two colours on multiple surfaces. Sometimes I’ll add a little touch of something before breakfast, or as I’m walking past the studio. I work fast and intuitively - my work is in a constant state of change, and taking risks is a big part of my practice.

Judy Oakenfull has a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) from the Victorian College of the Arts, and has been in many solo and group exhibitions in Melbourne, the Northern Rivers and Queensland. In 2020 she had a successful solo show at the Tweed Regional Gallery. She paints in a contemporary style that emphasises shape, texture and evocative colour. She is interested in our personal and systematic relationships with the natural world and this tends to be the main theme of her artwork and research. In recent work she explores our changing coastline and coastal flora - their visual and emotional effect and how they appear in our memory and imagination.

Judy Oakenfull CV