Oil Painting
Jo Dunsmuir
Jo is an artist painting with oils. Jo lives in the small coastal township of Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road in regional Victoria.
Artist Profile
Jo is an artist painting with oils. Returning to study Interior Decoration as an adult reconnected Jo with her love of a regular art practice, and now she paints as her full time passion. Adopting a largely self taught approach to painting, she experimented with a number of mediums before falling in love with the rich colour and textural possibilities of oil paint. Jo lives in the small coastal township of Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road in regional Victoria, where the beautiful natural environment informs much of her landscape work, but as a keen gardener, Jo also has a love of still life that documents her home grown flowers, fruit, and carefully collected household items.
Jo has exhibited in many group shows since 2021, and has been selected as a finalist in a number of national art prizes, including twice for The Regional Landscape Prize and Inside This Box, as well as for The Every Day, the Lethbridge 20000, the Waverley Woollhara 9 x 5 Landscape Prize, and most recently for the Mornington Peninsula Contemporary Art Prize
In 2024 Jo was one of 7 artists invited to Exhibit at the Inverell Contemporary, hosted by the Inverell Art Gallery, NSW. In 2024 The Cornerstore Gallery in Orange, NSW, hosted a solo exhibition of Jo’s work in Around The Table. Her work is held in many private collections.
Artist Interview
What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I paint with oil paints, mostly on linen or canvas board. I will forever love oils for the rich colours, for the incredible textures that can be achieved, and the wonderful way they move on any surface.
How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
Inspiration comes in many ways, from simply admiring the landscape in different weather, and hoping to catch that fleeting moment, to finding joy in the flowers and fruits from my garden, or my collection of ceramics made by the hands of others. I always begin with a sketch in charcoal or pencil on my painting surface, and mostly paint alla prima, occasionally working back into a painting until it reaches that magical finishing point.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
My studio is a small room in my home, which suits me very well. My work is small in scale, and so space is not so much of an issue, but the limitations of the space also forces me to keep things in reasonable order.
Career Highlights
- Solo Exhibition, Around the Table, The Corner Store Gallery, Orange, NSW. 2024
- Exhibiting Artist, The Inverell Contemporary, Inverell Art Gallery, Inverell, NSW. 2024
- Finalist, The Mornington Peninsula Contemporary Art Prize, CSC Gallery, Flinders, Vic. 2024
