Colin Passmore’s unique Australian landscapes and coastal imagery are an experiment with various media, imagery, and exciting working methods. His highly innovative works inspired by the Australian flora and fauna have become collectors’ and interior designers’ favourite for their distinct visual language and recognisable style.

Born and educated in Western Australia, Colin Passmore relocated with his young family to Noosa, Queensland in 1982. He began exhibiting his work in 1983, quickly gaining acclaim from Australia’s top galleries and art critics. For 40 years Colin Passmore’s has been at the forefront of contemporary Australian landscape painting. He has exhibited in nearly every city of Australia, and his works have found their way to many international collectors, including the U.S.A., Canada, England, Hong Kong, Singapore, The Middle East, New Zealand, Europe and many corporate and private collections in Australia. Colin Passmore currently resides in Noosa Australia, where he creates works inspired by the Australian landscape with its beautiful flora and fauna. A favourite of Australian interior designers, his paintings hang in many prestigious hotels and both period and modern private homes. In 1986 Passmore was commissioned to produce 50 oil paintings for the “Seahaven resort” in Noosa. Many more commissions followed when he achieved most of his creative breakthroughs developing works for private clients and designers, who gave him the support and freedom to create site-specific works.

Colin Passmore’s eclectic style is alive with the passion and flair he translates from the Australian environment, creating his unique style with unexpected colour combinations and distinctive brushwork. In his practice, he has developed many different themes, but he is best known for his Australian coastal imagery along with his depictions of the Paperbark trees and grasslands. He likes experimenting with various media, making his expressive, richly coloured works recognisable, innovative, and undoubtedly memorable.

Technique and Style

Looking at Colin Passmore’s paintings gives a viewer an almost mischievous feeling. We are observing the scene from a hidden vantage point, peeking through a thick growth of trees or weeds. Behind them sometimes hides a mountain range or a calming lake. However, instead of focusing on the subject past the tangle of flora, Passmore elaborates on the texture of the trees and weeds themselves, and on what hides within the maze of branches. He brings to the forefront the motif of small birds, dainty flowers and lily pads, studies the structure of the tree bark, or individual blades of the grass growing close to the lake. His rendition of nature is reminiscent of Jackson Pollock’s drips on canvas.

However, in Colin Passmore’s paintings, clear motifs emerge, and therefore he cannot be categorized purely as an abstract expressionist. Moreover, he hints at depth by including clever shadows and reflections on the water. Upon a closer look, Passmore’s paintings offer a multitude of carefully selected colours. Unlike many other Australian landscape painters, Passmore generally keeps the colours relatively cool, mostly focusing on blues and greens, with an occasional red and orange making an abrupt appearance. The artist cleverly works with negative space, leaving out important parts of the compositions, instead of emphasizing them with more colour. This simple method results in a striking effect created by the stark contrast between the rich detailing and the large areas of white, where the subject was supposed to be.

The composition of the paintings is another point to be noted. Passmore uses the repetition of motives to create a seemingly infinite landscape, that stretches far past the confines of the painting. By clearly admitting that what we see is a mere closeup of the entire scene, the artist manages to successfully reflect the vast character of the Australian land. On top of that, the myriad of small details provides an almost audible, immersive experience.

One can imagine sitting in nature, hearing the buzzing vibrato of the insects hiding in the grass, or lovely birdsong. The true charm of Colin Passmore’s paintings lies in their ability to transport you right into the midst of Australian nature within moments.