PROFILE
Stephanie Galloway Brown is a highly regarded Australian portrait artist with a passion for culture and a remarkable story working mostly in the medium of beeswax, oil & encaustics and has commissioned works hung in many private collections around Australia, New Zealand & the UK. Stephanie runs portrait painting and drawing workshops. She was a PAA committee member from 2010-2012.
Stephanie is the creator & producer of the Extraordinary Faces Project, a series of ongoing portraits and a book. She says that she mostly stumbles upon real life extraordinary people going about their everyday lives and is often inspired to delve into the essence of their life behind the portrait. “I share my discoveries of the gems in our midst on the website – www.extraordinaryfaces.org website.”
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
“I was born and raised on a dairy farm in Matamata, New Zealand, but I was always an explorer and I left my homeland in my early 20s to discover the world, immersing myself in the local culture wherever I travelled. From the European art galleries and Turkish mosques, my journey eventually led me back to Australia where I settled in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. For many years I followed a commercial art career in graphic design and studio management before leaving it behind to focus completely on fine art.”
MY PROCESS – “Ideas about colour combinations and textures percolate in my thoughts for some time. Using beeswax in the work for me was like discovering the missing link, bringing oil paint, pigments and earth elements closer to a natural state. I start by building up an abstract surface to work back into using materials mixed with encaustic or cold wax medium. It’s a very deliberate, violent attack on the surface – pouring, fusing, scraping, digging, gouging, sculpting, a process of destruction and rebuilding until I see the form start to emerge as if appearing from a haze. Slowing down I become more focused and deliberate, building up more realism, revelling in the unexpected beauty of imperfections. The wax brings a deep rich translucent sheen that almost glows, reminiscent of the layers of skin.”
Website: www.gallowaybrown.com.au
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Trilogy, Warringah Creative Space, Curl Curl NSW
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
- 2013 – Salon des Refusés (Archibald)
- 2012 – Mortimore Art Prize
- 2011 – Mortimore Art Prize
- 2010 – Salon des Refusés (Archibald);
- 2009 – Black Swan Portrait Prize;
- 2008 – Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award; and
- 2008 – Mortimore Art Prize.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013 Artspot, Face of Extraordinary: Volunteers book launch, Avalon Rec Centre Avalon NSW
2013 Multicultural Australia PAA, NSW Parliament House Sydney
2012 Celebrating Innovators, PAA, Federal Parliament House Canberra
2012 PAA Book launch, The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney
2012 Pittwater Community Arts, Avalon Rec Centre Avalon NSW
2011 All the World’s a Stage PAA, VAS Galleries, Melbourne VIC
2010 Pittwater Community Arts, Avalon Rec Centre, Avalon NSW
COMMISSIONS
Stephanie is available for all portrait commissions in oil paint, graphite or pastel and specialises in children’s portraits. She is also popular for pet portraits. Some of her many subjects include:
- Adele Horin, Syd Morning Herald journalist (finalist Salon des Refusés (Archibald)
- Dr Howard Ralph, Snr Australian of the year 2015 NSW
- John Ogden, photographer, writer & cinematographer
- Tania Niwa, International award winning photographer
- Sam Kutner, OAM (finalist Black Swan Portrait Prize)
- Madame Lash, (finalist Salon des Refusés (Archibald)
- Harold & Olga Cottee
- Jeff Ryan, founder Misfit Aid organisation
- Dave Thomas, Eco Divers
- Cathy Butler, Warringah Citizen of the Year
- Angelika Treichler, Manly Penguin Lady
A BACKGROUND IN DESIGN AND TUTORING
2012- Present – Portrait Workshop Tutor
2010-2012 Artfest Co Ordinator, Children’s Arts Festival
2011-2013 Portrait Artist Australia Executive Committee
2005-2008 Production Manager Niwa Photographic Studios
2001-2003 Studio Design Manager, Show Ads Sydney
1996-2001 Graphic Designer, SENSIS, Sydney
1990-1996 Illustrator, graphic designer, Macquarie University Sydney
Stephanie Brown 2009 – PAA exhibition Canberra Parliament House
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