Members Interview

For more than two decades, Gala Gilan has developed a contemporary figurative painting practice that combines technical realism with emotional depth, quiet atmosphere, and thoughtful observation. Working primarily in oil, she uses light not simply to define form but to shape mood, memory, and the subtle emotional presence within each portrait. Rather than creating exact likenesses, Gala's paintings leave space for mystery, inviting viewers to bring their own experiences and interpretations into every work. Inspired by everyday moments, personal relationships, and the enduring language of realism, she explores how portraiture can…

Holly Hutton creates handcrafted botanical artworks using historic photographic processes such as cyanotype and platinum-palladium printing, transforming flowers and plants into richly textured images that celebrate both nature and the beauty of slow-making. Originally trained in fiber arts, she discovered alternative photography while exploring image-making on fabric, a turning point that continues to shape her multidisciplinary practice decades later. Rather than treating photography as a tool for instant capture, Holly embraces chemistry, paper, fabric, and light as active collaborators, allowing each print to evolve through experimentation and carefully balanced unpredictability. Her…

Izabela Maliszewska-Skiejka brings together botanical illustration and video game environment design, creating artwork where scientific observation and digital world-building naturally complement one another. Fascinated by flora and fauna since childhood, she moved from traditional drawing into organic 3D modelling before discovering botanical illustration, a discipline that now sits alongside her work in the gaming industry. Her recent paintings focus particularly on marine life and seaweed, celebrating the intricate forms, shifting colours, and quiet beauty often hidden beneath the water's surface. Working primarily in watercolour while also exploring mixed media and digital…

Jillian Cheong creates vibrant paintings and textile collages inspired by Singapore’s extraordinary biodiversity, transforming everyday encounters with birds, insects, tropical plants, and urban nature into joyful celebrations of colour and discovery. A former biology teacher, she combines scientific observation with expressive artistic storytelling, encouraging viewers to slow down and notice the remarkable wildlife often hidden within familiar surroundings. Her richly layered compositions are filled with intricate botanical details, luminous birds, and playful patterns that reward close looking and invite a deeper connection with the natural world. More recently, Jillian has incorporated…

Katharine Dufault creates atmospheric landscape paintings that weave together observation, memory, and imagination to create places that feel emotionally familiar rather than geographically exact. Raised in the countryside near Cambridge, England, she developed a lifelong relationship with nature through countless afternoons spent painting outdoors with her artist mother, experiences that continue to shape her creative practice today. Working primarily in oil while also exploring watercolour, encaustic, monotype, and printmaking, Katharine begins with real landscapes before allowing intuition and memory to transform them into something entirely new. Trees, forests, rivers, rolling meadows,…

Lenny Pelling creates highly detailed pencil drawings that blend wildlife observation with storytelling, transforming Australian animals into memorable characters filled with personality, humour, and emotional depth. After leaving a corporate career in 2016 to pursue art full-time, she developed a distinctive practice that combines meticulous draftsmanship with a deep love for Australia’s unique wildlife. Rather than portraying animals as static subjects, Lenny imagines them living rich, relatable lives, whether it’s skinks sharing conversations, birds navigating daily adventures, or wombats going about their routines. Her work balances playful visual narratives with a…

Michelle Dumas transforms forgotten thrift-store paintings into dazzling contemporary artworks using thousands of individually applied sequins, breathing new life into vintage florals, landscapes, portraits, and found treasures. Rooted in a love of thrifting, upcycling, and creative reinvention, her practice challenges traditional ideas about value, beauty, and permanence by rescuing discarded artworks and turning them into vibrant, light-filled pieces that constantly shift with their surroundings. Working through an intensely time-consuming process, Michelle carefully builds layers of colour, texture, shimmer, and pattern that invite viewers to slow down and experience the work from…

Natalie Jane Parker creates highly detailed wildlife paintings that celebrate the beauty, personality, and diversity of Australia’s native animals and birds. Inspired by a childhood spent exploring bushland filled with possums, reptiles, birds, and towering eucalyptus trees, her work reflects a lifelong connection to nature and a deep appreciation for the natural world. Working primarily in acrylic on clay-coated board, Natalie carefully captures every feather, fur texture, water droplet, spider web, and habitat detail with extraordinary precision while maintaining a strong sense of warmth and life within each composition. Her paintings…

Nayeli Lavanderos creates intricate black-ink animal portraits that exist at the intersection of wildlife art, symbolism, healing, and personal transformation. Born in Mexico and now based in Portugal, her practice is deeply influenced by animal advocacy, shamanic traditions, and the Mexican concept of the nahual—the animal companion or spiritual mirror that accompanies a person through life. Each drawing begins with careful observation but unfolds through intuition, patience, and thousands of meticulously placed marks that slowly bring the animal’s presence to life. Working exclusively in black ink for much of her career,…

Robyn Palescandolo creates floral paintings that balance painterly realism with expressive brushwork, transforming flowers, fruit, and natural forms into deeply emotional experiences of beauty, wonder, and connection. Drawing inspiration from years spent studying art history, working as a designer, running a painting retreat in rural Italy, and continually returning to art throughout life's many changes, her work reflects both technical mastery and personal growth. Rich with soft pinks, lavenders, blues, greens, and luminous whites, her palette emerges from close observation of nature while gently heightening colour to capture emotion rather than…