About Anita West Art

About

Anita West

Anita is a mid-career Australian artist living and working in Brisbane. Anita has maintained a professional art practice for over 30 years and her passion is painting the unique Australian landscape.

Anita has had over 25 major solo exhibitions and paints an average of 15 -25 new major paintings for each show. Even though she is considered prolific, every painting has a unique story and the quality of the work continues to grow.

Because many shows sell out before opening night, a limited number of commissions are accepted each year.

Her work is in the collections of public institutions, commercial businesses, regional galleries and private homes across the world. Anita has an enviable history of commissions and is represented in Sydney with Harvey Galleries (10 years) and Gallery One at Southport (6 years).

Anita’s paintings have won major awards, and her works have been selected in many art prizes across Australia.

Anita’s reputation for her unique, technically proficient and beautifully layered landscapes are highly sought after as both for investment and for private collections. Her career is continuing to gain recognition in the Australian Contemporary Market.

Anita's Story

I grew up in North Queensland and spent my early years riding horses, camping, swimming and enjoying the freedom of exploring the bushland and tropical beaches of home. It was in these formative years that my love of the land was nurtured and developed.

My Education

Studying a 3-year Diploma of Fine Art in Townsville in the mid 80s, I was under the tuition of Anneke Silver and Bob Preston who were both mentors in my early painting career.

I was an avid horse-rider and during vacations, I worked as a Jillaroo on sheep and cattle stations where I continued my love affair with the outback that left me with a deep sense of belonging and connection.

Another year of studying and living in Gippsland gave me the qualifications needed to enjoy a career in teaching Art and English at high schools, but after a few years immersed in education, the urge to create my own art was a constant preoccupation. Finally, after moving to Philadelphia for two years, I gave up the security of teaching to pursue my passion.

Exhibitions in artist-run studios and small commercial galleries were encouraging. Early in my career I explored a variety of different styles – naïve art, figurative art, abstraction, miniature art particularly manuscripts with their borders and fine detail, and mixed media. I visited different cultures, walked the Kokoda Trail (nearly died from Malaria) and travelled extensively throughout Australia.

I finally settled in the Bayside suburbs of Brisbane where I have lived now for more than 20 years, raising 2 children and building a successful and rewarding art practice.

My Big Break

In 1996 I began an exclusive and unusual representation by the well-established Robertson’s Design Group, a Queensland based, international interior design and architectural company.

I had three major exhibitions with them, showing large-scale paintings on canvas as well as generating stock supplied during the year. In the 7 years that I worked with them, I was commissioned to paint many feature-works for luxury private homes and project pieces for major hotels, exclusive resorts business reception areas.

My two children were very young at this stage, and studio commitments were intense, so I had to learn very quickly about effective time management and letting go of ‘the small stuff’. I struggled with the difficulty of finding a balance between the expectations of motherhood and the intensity of my studio work.

However, this invaluable experience gave me the skills, confidence and drive to continue my art practice into the broader Australian commercial gallery environment. I have had such wonderful, empowering feedback from clients and art lovers throughout my career and have had so much admiration and support from my representing galleries.