Louise Hearman facts for kids

Louise Hearman (born in 1963) is a talented Australian artist from Melbourne. She has been painting and drawing since she was very young. Louise mostly uses oil paints on a material called masonite. Sometimes, she also works with pastels and charcoal.

Learning to Be an Artist

Louise Hearman went to Tintern Church of England Girls Grammar School for high school. This was in Ringwood, East Victoria. She showed a lot of artistic skill in her art classes there. After high school, she studied at the Victorian College of the Arts from 1982 to 1984.

Louise Hearman's Art Career

Louise Hearman first became known in 1986. She spent a year painting a large mural. This mural was inside a concrete dome. It was part of the old gymnasium at the Missions to Seamen building. This building is on Flinders Street in Melbourne. At that time, the building was also her art studio.

In 1991, her art was shown at the Australian National University's Drill Hall Gallery. This was a solo show called "The corporeal body." In 1993, she was chosen for the Australia Perspecta exhibition. Her work gained more attention in 1999. She was a finalist for the Contempora 5 award.

Her art was also shown at the National Gallery of Australia. This happened in both 2000 and 2005. In 2000, she was part of the "Uncommon World" exhibition. In 2005, her work was in the "Big Spooks" exhibition. In 2007, her painting Untitled #1158 was chosen. It was shown in Sydney's Open Gallery exhibition. This exhibition featured "leading Australian and international artists."

Louise Hearman has won important art prizes. Her portrait, Bill-1383, won the 2014 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. In 2016, she won the famous Archibald Prize. This was for her portrait of the entertainer Barry Humphries.

What Influences Louise Hearman's Art?

Louise Hearman grew up in Croydon, a suburb. She started painting and drawing when she was very young. As a child, she could not travel much. So, her first art subjects were the landscapes around her home. These landscapes have inspired many of her artworks since then.

Some art writers think another Australian artist, Clarice Beckett, might have influenced Hearman. Bruce James, an art critic, wrote about this in 2002. He suggested that Hearman's interest in strange situations might come from Beckett's art.

There has been talk that the TV show The X-Files influenced Hearman. However, Louise Hearman says this is not true. She states that she watches very little television. She has not even seen the X-Files series.