ELAINE UPTON




Elaine Upton. born 1937- Western Australia and raised on a wheat & sheep farm northeast of Perth, Elaine Bowers was educated by correspondence popular for remote families in the early 1940's.

As an only child she had a lot of time to draw, which she loved, and was the reason she enrolled in a commercial art course at Perth Technical College under the guidance of renowned watercolorist Ivor Hunt. This lead to an initial career of illustrating for newspapers in WA.

Married and raising two children in Albany, Elaine was painted and sculptured as Elaine Bracey. Elaine’s interest in art flourished in the 70's influenced by tutoring artists Henry Froudist and William Boissevain. This was also a time of winning some local art awards.
It was in the 1980's Elaine started painting under the name of Elaine Upton, having achieved a fine art diploma from the Claremont School of Art. Following the diploma, was a time of teaching drawing and painting around Perth's metropolitan area.

Upton began regular trips to Broome in the early 90's and this lead to an emphatic influence in the outback Australian landscape. In 1994 she set off on a solo journey from Perth to Broome and on to the Northern Territory, holding painting exhibitions in Darwin. Elaine found the aboriginal mystery, intense colour of Arnhem Land and the bird life over the top an inspiration not found any where else in Australia.

Elaine and her daughter artist Ariane Bracey held an exhibition of their works in Burswood of landscapes and figure drawings before a brief journey to Europe and the U.K. on an art discovery venture.

Elaine's extensive Australian travel has given her a valuable insight to the vastness of this ancient land, the remoteness that always gives rise to some mystery; this attracts her interests in painting with a imagination of a early time and of different cultures. The love of travel, and differing Australian landscapes gave way to an interest in residing on the attractive and colourful Mornington Peninsular, Victoria in 1996 before returning to the West in 2000.

Award winning landscapes, portraits, and still life works in water-colour oils pastels and charcoal are found in numerous corporate and private collections around the world.

Exhibitions.
1967 Watercolours with Albany Art Group.Cremorne gallery Perth
1969 Drawing participate in the Perth Prize for Drawing
1972 Sculpture and painting at the Claremont School of Art
1993 Watercolours at 'Kimberley Contours' Burswood
1994 'Territory Impressions'1994 at White Egret Gallery.Darwin
1995 Selected Images' at the Accent Gallery Subiaco 'Three Womens Exhibition' 1995 St Georges Terrace Perth.
1995 Watercolours of the Landscape at Lee Millers Gallery Mogo
1994 Paintings and Portraits at Brighton Galleries Brighton Le Sands N.S.W.
1997 Represented in Libby Edwards Gallery Portsea Vic.
2001 Watercolour Landscapes in Gallery 360 Hay St. Subiaco- Joondalup W.A
2005 “Opening Exibition” redrock gallery South Yarra
2006 redrock gallery, Group Exhbition, Relocation Exhibition,South Yarra, Aust
2007 June, redrock gallery, Group Exhibition, Gallery Grand Opening Beijing, P.R China
2007 July, redrock gallery, Group Exhibition China World Exhibition Centre, Beijing P.R China
2007 Aug, redrock gallery, Group Exhibition, Grand Hyatt Hotel,Beijing, P.R China
2007 Nov, redrock gallery, Group Exhibition, Internation Art Expo, Beijing, P.R China 


Awards:
1968/70/&74 6va Albany Art prize...1974 Albany art Prize for Drawing...1986 Margaret River Shire Artr Prize for Watercolour 'The Wave' ...1988 W.A. Art Society 1st Prize oil painting 'Cottesloe Beach'...1990 Fremantle Wool Stores First prize 'Two Cranes'...1992 Williams Art Award W.A. Watercolour 'Beach Scene'...1994 Finalist in the Windsor & Newton National Art Award Sydney Expo...N.S.W.

Collectors:
Mem Aziz, H.MA.S.Leewin Chapel Fremantle, The Bishop of Bunbury portrait.The Gov General'68& Sir Claude Hotchin
Elaine Upton, born 1937 in Western Australia and raised on a wheat & sheep farm
northeast of Perth. Elaine Bowers was educated by correspondence popular for
remote families in the early 1940's. As an only child she had a lot of time to
draw, which she loved, and was the reason she enrolled in a commercial art
course at Perth Technical College under the guidance of renowned watercolorist
Ivor Hunt. This lead to a initial career of illustrating for newspapers in WA . Married and raising two children in Albany, Elaine painted and sculptured as
Elaine Bracey. Elaine's interest in art flourished in the 70's influenced by
tutoring artists Henry Froudist and William Boissevain. This was also a time of
winning numerous local art awards.

It was in the 1980's Elaine started painting under the name of Elaine Upton,
having achieved a fine art diploma from the Claremont School of Art. Following
the diploma, was a time of teaching drawing and painting around Perth's
metropolitan area.

Elaine began making annual pilgrimages to Broome in the early 90's which lead
to a strong affinity to the outback north Australian landscape, reflected in
her art. In 1994 she extended her solo journey on to the Northern Territory,
holding painting exhibitions in Darwin. Elaine found the aboriginal mystery,
intense colour of Arnhem Land and the bird life over the top an inspiration not
found any where else in Australia.

Elaine and her daughter artist Ariane Bracey held a major exhibition of their
combined works at the Burswood International Resort and Casino featuring the
north Australian landscapes and figure drawings before a odyssey to Europe and
the U.K. on a art discovery venture.

Elaine's extensive Australian travel has given her a valuable insight to the
vastness of this ancient land, the remoteness that always gives rise to some
mystery; this attracts her interests in painting with a imagination of early
time and of different cultures.

The love of travel, and differing Australian landscapes gave way to an interest
in residing on the attractive Mornington Peninsular, Victoria in1996 before returning to the west in 2000, now living in the northern beach area where she continues painting Australian landscapes, and portraiture.


EXHIBITIONS and represented in.....
1967 watercolours with Albany Art Group.Cremorne gallery Perth
1969 Drawing participate in the Perth Prize for Drawing
1972 Sculpture and painting at the Claremont School of Art
1993 Watercolours at 'Kimberley Contours' Burswood

NORTHERN TERRITORY
1994 'Territory Impressions'1994 at The White Egret Gallery.Darwin
1995 'Sellected Images' at the The Accent Gallery Subiaco

NEW SOUTH WALES
1995 Watercolours of the Landscape at The Lee Millers Art Gallery Mogo
1994 Paintings and Portraits at The Brighton Galleries Brighton Le Sands

VICTORIA
1996 Represented in The Libby Edwards Gallery Portsea Village 2000 Australia's Indigenous Creations Gallery Burke St.Melbourne 2003-4 The Red Rock Gallery Southbank Melbourne.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
2000 The 360 Galleries Subiaco, Joondalup,Applecross,& Mt. Lawley. 2002 Picasso's Gallery Hillarys 2000 Accent Gallery Dalkieth

AWARDS:
1968/70/&74 6va Albany Art prize.Oil painting acquisitive 1974 Albany art Prize for Drawing acquisitive 1986 Margaret River Shire Art Prize for Watercolour 'The Wave' acquisitive 1988 W.A. Art Society 1st Prize oil painting 'Cottesloe' 1990 Fremantle Wool Stores First prize 'Two Birds' acquisitive 1992 Williams Art Award W.A. Watercolour 'Beach Scene' 1994 A finalist with water colour 'The Hot N'West' in The Windsor & Newton National Art Award Competition: Sydney Art Expo. non.acquisitive

COLLECTORS:

The Bishop of Bunbury portrait Oil: The Mayoral Chambers Albany.W.A. Goverment House for Lady Casey 1969.drawing: Sir Claude Hotchin-W.A.art collector 1966, Luma Luma Darwin 1997 : Rep. in private and corporate bodies nationally and internationally.
Bib. A Spirited Place by Hugo pub.Claremont School of Art1993.. North of the 26th Vol. Two ed. Hellen Weller. Pub.Access Press 1994

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