Christine Porter

Her artwork has received more than 300 awards including the McGregor Fellowship for international travel from the University of Southern Queensland. She has been collected by the National Gallery of Australia, the Brisbane City Council and many regional public and corporate collections, as well as by private collectors globally. 

Influenced by many traditional Australian watercolourists such as Frederic Bates, much of her formative learning occurred in the dusty isolation of rural Queensland. There she learnt the value of simply getting out and painting, of brush to paper, hours at the easel.

However, no artist creates in a vacuum – learning occurs in the studio, and within community. She gratefully credits many of her teachers, be they deliberate or accidental, with the advances she’s made in her career. Being an elected member of the Australian Watercolour Institute has given her a place on the national stage, amongst some of the most respected watercolourists in the land. An undergraduate degree in Visual Arts has layered contemporary understandings over her essentially subject-based practice. A daily commitment to that practice, committing to watercolour and all its beauty means that, for this artist, learning isn’t finite, it’s as integral to the process as the product itself. 

Her teaching reflects the importance of an artist developing a conversation with their own art practice rather than simple mimicry of other’s. Her strategies over the years have included workshops and classes in techniques and skills, however the most important element, one that intertwines it all even whilst talking brushes or glazing, is about the support and encouragement of artists in finding their own voice. True teaching isn’t just about facts, it’s about being an experienced bystander asking “how can I help you today”, and doing just that.