Colleen in Blue

‘Colleen in Blue’ is a portrait of my sister and artist Colleen Stapleton. My intent was to portray Colleen’s love and academic pursuit of classical art, drawing inspiration from 17th Century Dutch master influences. It includes personal and individual stories behind the portrait and I hoped to communicate the special bond we have together as artists and sisters. It is part of an ongoing series I am currently undertaking, painting portraits of women close to me. For this series I am working in collaboration with florist and friend Amy Clement from The Wild Side Florals to create an individual and personalized floral feature for each sitter.

Colleen Stapleton is a contemporary realist artist based in Sydney, Australia. She has a passion for portraiture and figurative art, and enjoys depicting the beauty and complexity of the human form and condition. Colleen has been a finalist in many prestigious national and international art awards such as the Darling Portrait Prize, Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, Portia Geach Memorial Award, Arc Salon International, Kennedy Arts Prize, Lethbridge 20000, Percival Portrait Prize, Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, AME Bale and the KAAF Prize. She has exhibited her works nationally and internationally.