Marion Chapman

Living and working in London at this stage, I began attending life drawing classes, then painting and silk screening at the Sir John Cass School of Art. Encouraged to get a portfolio of work together and apply for art school, I was accepted into the City and Guilds of London School of Art – one of the very few art schools still teaching life drawing! I graduated in painting after 4 years and several years later returned to Australia. Here I exhibited many times, both solo and with others, in between raising two children.

I became a voluntary guide at the NGV, working there for 8 years. However, in the end I had to choose between talking about art or making it, and I chose the latter. In England my work was very tonal, but back in Australia I was taken by the fantastic light and colour, capturing gardens, landscapes as well as interiors and still life. I am a member of Melbourne Society of Woman Painters and Sculptors, and Victorian Artists Society, enjoying the camaraderie, because being an artist can be a very isolated career.

My recent work has revolved around my travels, both within Australian and abroad. Having been an activist all my life, I could see a connection in my paintings, addressing one of my passions – climate change. So, although they are not principally about climate, they feature water. Having had a lot of rain and floods in recent years, we now look like getting extreme heat waves, leading to bushfires, the decimation of wildlife, and large swathes of Australian countryside. Hopefully my work will help people see how important it is to preserve the ecosystem for all denizens of the earth.