Fiona Lowry facts for kids

Fiona Lowry (born 1974 in Sydney) is an Australian artist known for her unique paintings. She uses a special spray-painting tool called an airbrush to create soft, pale colors in her artworks. Fiona often paints landscapes that include people. While her landscapes look beautiful, they can also make you feel a bit uneasy, hinting at the wild and sometimes dangerous side of nature.

Fiona Lowry also paints amazing portraits. She won the famous Archibald Prize in 2014 for her portrait of Penelope Seidler. Her art can be found in major galleries like the National Gallery of Australia and other important collections across Australia.

About Fiona Lowry's Early Life

Fiona Lowry was born in Sydney in 1974, and she still lives and works there today. Even as a child, she loved watching people and drawing them.

Fiona grew up in a religious family. She has shared in interviews that she sees both the beauty and the serious side of nature. These feelings are often shown in her paintings.

Fiona studied art at the Sydney College of the Arts. She earned a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours.

Fiona Lowry's Art Career

Since 2001, Fiona Lowry has used an airbrush to paint her canvases. She often uses light, single colors to create a mysterious feeling. This style makes her sometimes serious subjects feel even more intense.

Many of her paintings are set in Australian bushland or forests. These places have sometimes been the sites of sad historical events. Because of this, Lowry's artworks can make you feel a sense of danger or vulnerability.

In 2010, Fiona had her first solo art show in Sydney. She was represented by Gallery Barry Keldouli for a while. Today, her art is shown by Martin Browne Contemporary in Sydney.

Some of Fiona Lowry's landscape paintings include figures of people. These figures often act out scenes in a modern wilderness setting. Her art looks beautiful, but it can also make you feel a bit uneasy.

Fiona Lowry has also started painting portraits. She focuses on showing the inner thoughts and feelings of the people she paints. Some of the figures in her landscape works are actually portraits.

Fiona once mentioned that seeing the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales was her first experience with art. She really wanted her own work to be part of it one day. Fiona was a finalist for the prize in 2011 and 2013. She finally won the portraiture prize in 2014 for her painting of Penelope Seidler. Fiona had seen Seidler at an art exhibition and was impressed by her beauty and presence. From that moment, she knew she wanted to paint her.

Awards and Recognitions

Fiona Lowry has won several important art awards:

• In 2008, she received the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.
• She won the Fleurieu Art Prize in 2013 for her painting Alone With You.
• In 2013, the painting Alone With You also won the Wynne Prize for landscape art. This prize is given by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Fiona created this painting while she was staying at Arthur Boyd's estate, Bundanon, which he left to Australia.
• Fiona was a finalist for the Archibald Prize in 2011, 2013, 2021, and 2022.
• She won the Archibald Prize in 2014 for her painting Penelope Seidler.
• In 2018, Fiona Lowry received an Honorable Mention for her work "My Mother's Far Embrace" at the Paddington Art Prize.

Where to See Fiona Lowry's Art

Fiona Lowry's paintings are part of many important art collections, including:

• National Gallery of Australia
• National Gallery of Victoria
• National Portrait Gallery
• Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney