ARTISTS STATEMENT
Portraiture has been a recurring theme in my work since 1988 when I left a career in management and accounting to pursue a life long love of drawing and painting. Initially my works and exhibitions were concerned with the human form and relationships. For a time from 1999 I began to explore the natural world through portrayal of the landscape and the creatures that are part of it. I was drawn back to portraiture in 2004 when commissioned to produce a work commemorating a company dinner. This involved composing a group portrait of over 50 people. Then in 2007 I was invited to join eight other artists in a two year project working on portraits of ten well known Hunter Valley identities as a fund raiser for the National Trust. In these two projects, for the first time I found I could successfully use digital photographs as an aid in working on portraits whereas previously I had relied solely on sittings to convey my response to the sitter. The combination suits me well and I am now enjoying splitting my time between portraiture and paintings of the environment we live in.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Shirley Cameron-Roberts spent her early years on a wheat and sheep property on the Murray River at Boundary Bend in Victoria. She completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Melbourne University in 1967 and went on to a career in accounting and management. In 1982 she moved to Sydney. She now lives in the country near the Barrington Tops National Park. Though largely self taught as an artist, in the 1970’s she undertook courses in painting and drawing at the Victorian Artist’s Society, the Victorian Council for Adult Education and Prahran Technical College.
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS
2009 Islands of Hope, Ivy Hill Gallery, Wapengo, NSW
2008 Tree, Gallery Adagio, Sydney
2007 The Long, Long Road, John Miller Galleries, Newcastle
2006 Recent Paintings, Gallery 460 & Sculpture Park, Gosford
2005 A Fragile Land, John Miller Galleries, Newcastle
Part of the Landscape # 3, Breewood Galleries, Richmond
2003 Part of the Landscape # 2, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery, Swan Hill, Victoria
Part of the Landscape, Breewood Galleries, Richmond
2002 Landmarks, The Private Gallery, Gold Coast, Queensland
2001 Reasonable Use, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
From the Forest to the Foreshore, The Private Gallery, Sydney
Formative Years, Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin
2000 Connections, Breewood Galleries, Leura
1999 Forest Fragments, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1998 Paintings, The Private Gallery, Sydney
1997 Players on the Board, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
1995 Paintings and Drawings, von Bertouch Galleries
Saying Goodbye to Yesterday, Kenthurst Gallery, Sydney
1994 Drawn From Life, Kenthurst Gallery, Sydney
1992 Images in Transition, Manning Regional Gallery, Taree
Journey in Colour, Duke of Wellington Gallery, Sydney
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009 Unsung Heroes, Portrait Artists Australia, Parliament House, Canberra
Newcastle by Name II, final exhibition at John Miller Galleries, Newcastle
2008 National Trust portraits, (Drip in a Bucket Series), Brough House, Maitland
Forsythes Collectors Care, Front Room Gallery, Newcastle Art School, TAFE
2007 Unlocked II, John Paynter Gallery, Newcastle
Forsythes Collectors Care, Front Room Gallery, Newcastle Art School, TAFE
2006 Finalist John Leslie Art Prize – Land, Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, Victoria
Feature Artist, Oakhill College Art Show, Dural
Forsythes Collectors Care, Newcastle Art School, TAFE
Fool’s Cap, John Miller Gallery, Newcastle
2005 The 10th Sydney Art on Paper Fair, Sydney, with John Miller Galleries
Samaritan’s Collectors Care, TAFE Gallery, Newcastle
2004 Undercurrents, curated by Gavin Wilson, Maitland Regional Gallery, Maitland
Finalist John Leslie Art Prize – Art Refers to Environment, Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale
The Artesian Art Prize, John Miller Galleries, Newcastle
2003 Selections from the Anne von Bertouch Collection, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle
Wanderings, Selected Work by Maitland Artists, Maitland City Art Gallery
Inaugural Exhibition, Portrait Artists Australia, Arthouse Hotel, Sydney
Collectors Choice, von Bertouch Galleries, (The final CC). Also 1993-2002
2002 Finalist Swan Hill Print and Drawing Acquisitive Awards, Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery, Vic
Bridging the Divide, Maitland City Art Gallery; Feature Artist,
2001 Finalist Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Centenary of Federation, Maitland City Art Gallery, Maitland
2000 Newcastle – Ube 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Ube, Japan
Brave New World? A Statement, Maitland City Art Gallery
Sharing the Sea & the Landscape, North Sydney Fine Art Gallery
1999 Redlands Westpac Art Prize, Mosman City Art Gallery, Sydney
Thoughts on the End of the Second Millennium, Maitland City Art Gallery
1998 The Elements, Inaugural Exhibition, Akky van Ogtrop Fine Art Gallery, Sydney
Rites of the River, Festival and Art Trail, Maitland Central Business District
1997 Tyrrell’s Triumph – Another Dimension, Maitland City Art Gallery
1996 Artistic Relationships Number 2, Maitland City Art Gallery
Tomago House, a Celebration through Art, Tomago House then von Bertouch Galleries
1995 Finalist Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1994 Finalist Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Sydney Harbour Exhibition, Kenthurst Gallery, Kenthurst;
Newcastle Bight Environmental Art Award, von Bertouch Galleries;
Mosman Art Prize, Adjudicator’s Selection, Sydney
Two Artists of the Hunter, Butterflies Gallery, Pokolbin
1993 Selections, von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle;
Aspects of Love, Kenthurst Gallery, Kenthurst
Survey of Women Artists of the Hunter Region, Maitland City Art Gallery
1992 Finalist Portia Geach Memorial Award, S. H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Mosman Art Prize, Adjudicator’s Selection, Sydney
Nudes and Other Animals, Duke of Wellington Gallery, Sydney
Festival of Sydney Exhibition, Westpac, 39 Martin Place, Sydney
1990 Jazz, Eaglehawke Galleries, Sydney; Mosman Gallery, Sydney
AWARDS
2006 Tea Gardens Grange, Open Section
2004 The Banool Conservation Art Prize, Scone
Artesian Art Prize, John Miller Galleries, Newcastle, Second Prize
2002 Sydney Royal Arts Show, Figurative Painting
1997 Maitland Art Prize, Print and Drawing Prize, acquisitive
1996 Newcastle Regional Art Prize, Drawing
Singleton Art Prize, Open Contemporary Section
1994 Scone Art Prize, Open Section
Walkom Manning, Biennial Art Prize, Taree, Best Painting
Singleton Art Prize, Open Contemporary
Maitland Art Prize, Drawing Prize, acquisitive
1993 Northholme Art Prize, Drawing and Mixed Media
COLLECTIONS
Maitland Regional Gallery; Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery; Donaldson Coal Pty Ltd, Sydney;
Coalbridge Pty Ltd, Newcastle; Ellemby Resources Pty Ltd, Maitland; ABN Amro, Brisbane;
Private Collections in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, the UK and the U.S.A.
COMMISSIONS
Donaldson Coal Pty Ltd, Ellemby Resources Pty Ltd, various commissions for private collections.
PUBLICATIONS/ARTICLES
Jill Stowell, Art, H2, Newcastle Herald, 6/12/08
Jill Stowell, Galleries, Newcastle Herald Weekender, 11/8/07
McCulloch’s Encyclopedia of Australian Art, new updated 4th edition,2006
Catalogue, 10th Sydney Art on Paper Fair, Sydney, July 2005, p3
Jill Stowell, Review, Newcastle Herald Weekender, 15/10/05
Undercurrents, catalogue with essay by Gavin Wilson, Maitland Regional Gallery, April 2004
Jill Stowell, Art Review, Newcastle Herald, Weekender, Saturday 10 April, 2004
The Maitland Mercury, 7 April. 2004 p3
The Flow of Creation, Hunter Lifestyle, March/April 2004
Helen Kaptein, Glory of the Bend, Gallery News, Swan Hill Guardian, 8/9/03,
Spring at the Swan Hill Gallery, Swan Hill Guardian, 8 September, 2003
Catalogue, 2002 Swan Hill Print and Drawing Acquisitive Awards, selective exhibition
Libby Dickerson, 2NUR FM, 1 August, 2001.
Jill Stowell, Art, Newcastle Herald, 4 August, 2001
Jill Stowell, Three Trees, Newcastle Herald, 17th July, 1999.
Rosemary Bunker, “An Artist’s Journey”, Artemis, Newcastle Gallery Society, 1998, Vol. 28/1.
Meryl Ryan, Review, “The Female Form in Favor”, Newcastle Herald, 26 October, 1996.
Jill Stowell, Review, The Newcastle Herald, 21 April, 1995;
ABC Television, Review, “Portia Geach Portrait Award”, 6th November, 1995.
Max Germaine, A Dictionary of Women Artists of Australia, Craftsman Press.