Location: Australia
Graeme Compton is a visual artist and illustrator. He was born in North-West NSW, Australia. He has loved drawing since childhood. He works from home and has a busy practice, completing commissions for portraiture and illustrations for children’s books, along with his work as a piano teacher.
Graeme’s subjects and styles are broad, from dragons to portraits, cartoons to realism. He works in graphite, charcoal, ink, acrylic and digitally.
In 2011 and 2012 he was selected as a finalist for the Mortimer Prize for Realism. In 2013 he was awarded Grand Champion for his work ‘Egret on Tap’ in the Gunnedah Art Exhibition. Over the past three years he has illustrated nine children’s books for author’s Pat Clarke, Emma Martin, Fred Strassberg, Alec Trost and Cherelle Flemming, all published by Little Steps.
In 2015 his realist paintings were published in ‘Who’s Who in Visual Art – Masters of Realistic Imagery 2015-2016’, edited by Ulrich Goette Himmelblau, with a preface by Ernst Fuchs.
Graeme is currently working on a series of fantasy pieces for exhibition, along with a set of realist paintings and a children's book.
Other places to find samples of Graeme's art:
http://graemecompton.wix.com/visual-artist
http://www.artgracom.com.au/
https://www.facebook.com/artgracom
http://illustratorsaustralia.com/portfolios/graeme-compton/
The work included in this portfolio is selected from drawings and paintings I have completed over the past few years. Creating images is my meditation, my adventure, my pathway through life. I hope that you enjoy what you see.
Graeme, 2015
'Jasmine dandelion puff' captures one of those exquisite, magical moments in a child's life - when our breath blows the the fluffy seeds into the air. Graphite and charcoal on watercolour paper by artist Graeme Compton, 2012
'Sam's Window' is a moment in time, a child at play, a cubby house full of colour, a world we all would wish to give our children. Acrylic on canvas by artist Graeme Compton, 2014
'The beggar on a platter' depicts the ambiguous existence of the artist. Acrylic on canvas, by artist Graeme Compton, 2013
'Egret on Tap', the splendid white water bird, poised on the gate-valve to the artificial lake. Acrylic on canvas, by artist Graeme Compton, 2013
'A study in gumboots', our childhood adventures in the mud, the moment of musing over what to do next: hop, slide, sit and make mud-pies? Graphite and charcoal on watercolour paper, by artist Graeme Compton, 2011
'Little Falcon' captures a scene which I witnessed from the rooftop of our house, the hunting consuming its prey; I watched as this bird, only metres away from my position of the roof, protected its kill and eyed me suspiciously as it ate. Acrylic on canvas, by artist Graeme Compton, 2014
An idea for a children's frieze involving an adventurous young elephant had been on my digital drawing board for some time. Whilst creating one of the images, involving a haunted mansion, I thought it would be amusing to hang classic portraits on the walls with one huge difference: each portrait would be repainted as an elephant. I chose Rembrandt as my victim. Once the digital roughs were done, I became attracted to the little images and decided to actually paint them, on canvas. Some deliberate study of Rembrandt's original's thus ensued and the finished paintings produced. I am now working on an exhibition with this theme. This picture, inspired by Rembrandt's 'Girl at a window' from 1645 caught my eye, particularly because of the girl's expression, the musing, patient look she gives the painter as she thumbs the skin at her throat.
An idea for a children's frieze involving an adventurous young elephant had been on my digital drawing board for some time. Whilst creating one of the images, involving a haunted mansion, I thought it would be amusing to hang classic portraits on the walls with one huge difference: each portrait would be repainted as an elephant. I chose Rembrandt as my victim. Once the digital roughs were done, I became attracted to the little images and decided to actually paint them, on canvas. Some deliberate study of Rembrandt's original's thus ensued and the finished paintings produced. I am now working on an exhibition with this theme. The inspiration for this painting springs from Rembrandt's self portrait at age 34, completed in 1640. Rembrandt depicts himself as a confident, well-to-do young man at the height of health. My elephantised version of this composition retains the sartorial splendour, including the furry beret, and the cockiness of the sitter, but includes a slight inflection of surprise.
“Jasmine dandelion puff”
“Sam's Window”
“The beggar on a platter”
“Egret on Tap”
“A study in gumboots”
“Little Falcon”
“Elephant at a window”
“Elephandt Selfie”
