Robin Meiklejohn
The inspiration for my art comes from my love of the natural environment which I am now fortunate to be able to spend more and more time exploring.
Watercolour and graphite are my preferred mediums as they allow me to depict the delicate and intricate details of my subjects - drawing attention to the exquisite beauty that is all too often overlooked. I aim to depict the finest details of my subjects accurately and honestly, to capture their character without compromising their integrity.
The images I create are rendered from live specimens and foliage gathered and bought into my studio. My birds and animals are usually drawn and painted from photographs referenced from the generosity of talented photographers I have been fortunate to connect with through my art practice.
It could be said that I work from the heart. As such, I tend to avoid commissions and focus on painting whatever captures my attention and inspires me.
Robin grew up in the Blue Mountains completely surrounded by untouched bushland. Having this native landscape as her playground provided her a lifelong appreciation of the beauty and fragility of our natural environment. Raised in a creative extended family Robin credits her grandmother, a talented artist, as the person who inspired a love of art, gardens and flowers. The smell of oil paint always transports Robin to her grandmother’s studio where she would sit alongside and be allowed access to all paints and brushes to her hearts content.
Leaving school, Robin trained as an Early Childhood Teacher in Bathurst and for the next 30 years totally absorbed in her profession passed on her love of art with a creative curriculum very much based on “Art From The Heart”. Robin has always been very passionate in her belief that every child is an artist just needing to be nurtured.
A chance visit to an art store in 2011, she found herself signing up to a Botanical Art course under the tuition of botanical artist MaryAnn Mein. Robin still paints with this group once a month at the Botanic Gardens in Orange. This was her first introduction to watercolour, still her favoured medium, not only learning to observe and depict the finest detail of her subjects but how to work with layers of transparent colours to build up her realistic images.
It was painting a Blue Wren as a gift for her mother that ignited a passion for painting birds and wildlife. The influence of her Botanical training can be seen in her art work as the subjects she paints are finely detailed and rarely distracted by background.
Being awarded a “Highly Commended” in the 2019 Little Things Art Prize, Saint Cloche Gallery Paddington, has also given Robin the confidence to enter her art work in exhibitions in both local and regional Galleries.