September 26, 2022
Interview with Fiona Bilbrough
Interview with Fiona Bilbrough
In this video, Emilio Longo interviews Australian tonal realist painter, Fiona Bilbrough. Fiona’s background involves formal studies with Australian tonal realist painter and former student of Max Meldrum, John Balmain. It is through her engagement with Balmain’s teaching that Fiona became thoroughly steeped in the philosophy of the Max Meldrum School of Tonal Realism and begun to uncover the art of translating three dimensional appearances onto paper and canvas. Teaching art to both children and adults throughout her life, Fiona has today become a sought-after teacher and art show judge who has made the necessary sacrifices throughout her life to maintain her painting practice. Topics discussed include, Fiona’s childhood and the place of art within it, her formal training with John Balmain between 1989-1990, receiving a Bachelor of Education in Fine Arts from the University of Melbourne in 1990, teaching art in Victorian government schools and at the McClelland Guild of Artists, winning the AME Bale Travelling Scholarship and Art Prize in 1995 and being invited to become a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society in 2016. Further to this, Fiona provides insight into her process of painting and how it has developed over the years, as well as some of the key paintings she has created throughout her life thus far. Also, the current state of tonal realist painting within Australia is evaluated and how it compares to other parts of the world is discussed.
Fiona's artist profile on the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society’s website: www.twentymelbournepainterssociety.com.au
Fiona's email: [email protected]
Fiona's artist profile on the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society’s website: www.twentymelbournepainterssociety.com.au
Fiona's email: [email protected]