Fiona Cotton is a contemporary realist painter, specialising in still life painting  and portraiture.  She has spent time in Florence studying classical painting techniques at the Florence Academy of Art and the Charles Cecil Studios and has been a finalist in many art prizes including the AME Bale Art Prize, the Percival Portrait Prize, the Mosman Art Prize, the Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize and the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award.  She is delighted to be featured in Still Life by Amber Creswell Bell published by Thames and Hudson in 2021.

"Painting from life and using traditional techniques I explore the gentle beauty of everyday objects in my still life work.  In a chaotic world, I try to create a quiet space where creative thoughts can flourish through contemplation of an image rich with colour and light. My aim in my portraits is not just to convey a likeness of the sitter but also something of their personality and especially to capture the mood of the moment together with indications of their backstory. Painting over a number of sittings, I explore ways to achieve these aims through compositional elements and the particular balance of light and dark."

Fiona began her art training at a young age with professional artist Mary Martin in the UK before moving to Australia in her teens. She has a BA in Fine Art (History) and Drama (Flinders University), a Dip Ed (Adelaide University) and an MA (Macquarie University). She developed a career in teaching and research in English and Linguistics all the while painting whenever she could. In 2010 she returned to painting and has travelled to Florence five times to further her art training.  Her work can be seen at the A.K. Bellinger Gallery, Inverell.