The Best Female Australian Artists We're Loving Right Now

Finding art for the home is a deeply personal journey. It's about securing that special piece that resonates with you and has the power to transform your space.

In the local art scene, diversity reigns supreme, with a wide range of mediums and subjects waiting to captivate your creative spirit.

Female Australian artists play a central role in this artistic landscape as their works span genres—from bold contemporary pieces to traditional creations, each offering a personal connection.

So, if you're looking for that perfect piece to sit in an empty spot above your sofa or bed or suit your interior design taste, our following curation of the best female Australian artists will have you sorted.

Sophie Corks

Sophie Corks takes you on a captivating exploration of Australia's rural communities and landscapes. Her art is a colourful journey, skillfully designed to elicit a spectrum of emotions.

In her recent series, Sophie delves into Australian regional towns, masterfully evoking nostalgia for times gone by. Each brushstroke whispers stories of life in these charming locales, offering a unique perspective that resonates with anyone who has an appreciation for the heart and soul of regional Australia.

Sophie is directly inspired by the city streets she walks, and this urban influence infuses her work with a dynamic energy.

Fran Max 

Fran Max, a contemporary artist hailing from Melbourne, Australia, offers a unique lens into life's everyday moments, often with a touch of humour.

Her art is a reflection of her personal experiences, and as it evolves on the canvas, she hopes to evoke an uplifting feeling in her patrons. She’s most famous for her Mediterranean-inspired seafood paintings that are reminiscent of her grandfather Ernie Carroll’s creative legacy. Both Fran and Ernie express art through life’s hilarity.

For Fran, however, the joy of creating art extends beyond the canvas. She finds fulfilment in seeing her work grace the walls of art enthusiasts.

Freestone art 

Lauren of Freestone Art, a contemporary Aboriginal artist based in Awabakal Country, Newcastle NSW, brings a unique artistic perspective to life's canvas.

She follows in the creative footsteps of her father, Lee Freestone, a proud Wiradjuri artist, sharing her modern style while honouring her family's artistic legacy.

Lauren draws from her Wiradjuri heritage, finding inspiration in her great-grandparents' country and the saltwater landscapes of Gumbaynggirr, her birthplace and childhood home.

Using an earthy colour palette and a fusion of mediums, Lauren skillfully captures the rich textures and vibrant hues of her beloved Country. Her art reflects a profound connection to the land, blending tradition and contemporary expression harmoniously.

Bonnie Gray

Bonnie Gray, a local artist from the Central Coast of Australia, is a true master of colour. Her art is a unique blend of ‘90s tropical hues, abstract shapes, and clandestine stories. Known for her distinctive "Bonnie Gray" signature, her work brings a burst of vibrant joy to any space.

As an artist deeply inspired by the south of France and the city of Paris, Bonnie's creations reflect a playful exploration of colours and textures. Her art speaks in a language of simplicity and light, much like the things that inspire her daily life.

Her work is a joyful wonder that speaks to the soul through the medium of abstract expression.

Tegan Franks 

Tegan Franks, a rising artist hailing from Sydney's Northern Beaches channels her deep connection with the coastal surroundings into her evocative artworks.

Her art, a therapeutic and calming expression of her creative spirit, transports viewers to the beachside ambience of Australian summers.

Tegan's work strips away excess details, leaving behind a simple and atmospheric feeling, evoking the serene feeling of a day by the sea.

Her work is a testament to her deep connection with the beachside environment, making it resonate strongly with those who appreciate the laid-back, summery vibes of the Northern Beaches. 

Madeline Jovicic

Madeline Jovicic, a Newcastle-based multidisciplinary artist, brings a touch of summer nostalgia to her creations. With a palette boasting pinks, blues, yellows, and burnt sienna, she weaves scenes that transport you to sunny shores and seaside towns.

Her art is a vivid tapestry of past summers, holidays, and vibrant colours. It's like a visual yearning for those warm days, a reminder of “places you'd rather be,” as she’d put it.

Madeline's work isn't just art; it's a cheerful slice of sunshine, a memory captured on canvas. Her pieces resonate with anyone who's ever craved the simple joys of summer.

Atong Atem

Atong Atem is a South Sudanese artist who was born in Ethiopia and migrated to Australia as a child. With an ongoing interest in portraiture, she uses photography to explore and examine postcolonial practices among the African diaspora in Melbourne.

She uses a vibrant palette and beautifully stylised imagery that will draw you into a narrative that belies its façade. Many of her photographs take the form of self-portraits and portraits of friends, as well as installation and video works exploring migrant stories, cultures and identities.

Striking, intelligent and evocative, her work is quite simply impossible to turn away from. 

Evi O

Evi O is an award-winning multi-disciplinary designer and self-taught artist based in Sydney. With a curious eye and mind, she is constantly exploring and observing her surroundings through her abstract paintings.

Her works are often infused with dominant abstract shapes, although the compositions she presents are suggestive of earthly forms, whether that be animal, plant or constructed.

Her depictions are symbolic of people, places and scenes that have left an impression on her - which affords her images with a strong level of emotional resonance.

Colour is the cornerstone of Evi O’s practice, guaranteed to bring joy to your day. 

Elizabeth Barnett

A Victorian-based artist whose creative practice encompasses painting, printmaking and illustration, Elizabeth Barnett's work is a cheery and beautiful documentation of her surroundings.

Her paintings often depict intimate domestic spaces filled with exotic and interesting plants, colour, treasured objects and furniture, seasonal still life compositions and landscapes, and will bring a vibrancy to any room in your home. 

Thea Anamara Perkins

Sydney-based Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist, practising portraiture and landscape to question representations of First Nations peoples and Country.

Her pieces are done with a delicate hand but often answer heavier questions about what it means to be indigenous in contemporary Australia.

Perkins often delves into her family’s photographic archive for source material, attracted to 'the glimmer' of the hyper-saturated, almost cinematic expression of old photos, and the melancholia that comes with seeing a moment in time you can no longer access.

Her works are therefore oft-evocative snapshots of comfort and certainty - smiling faces and happy memories. 

Eliza Gosse 

Eliza Gosse explores life through the lens of architecture – specifically the clean, simple lines of post-war and mid-century design.

Her paired back images are more in line with an evocation of an era or place, and the people who may once have lived there.

Sleek, stylised, and with quirky, pop-culture-referenced titles, each piece is enhanced by a muted colour palette that bathes each scene in nostalgia. They're the perfect statement for any home. 

Libby Haines 

There's a reason why Libby Haines' paintings are so beloved on Instagram. Her vividly coloured paintings and fine art prints embody charming vignettes of domestic life, that sell out within seconds when she posts a new piece online. 

As a mother and an artist, her work cherishes the joy of an everyday moment, whether that be cooking, eating, enjoying a nice bottle of wine or simply taking inspiration from the space she calls home.

The tonal palette of the series of still-lifes is slightly surreal, designed to evoke both nostalgia and joy. 

We (and everybody else) can't get enough! 

Lisa Nooin

Taking inspiration from fashion, flowers, interior objects and women, Lisa Nooin is an Australian illustrator and artist to watch.

Born and raised in South-West Sydney to Vietnamese parents, she has a background in graphic design, which is what helped lay the groundwork for her vividly coloured creations and thoughtful composition.

Blending colours, shapes and patterns, her beautiful pieces would make a striking addition to any home. 

Whitney Spicer 

Fenton & Fenton's latest artist collaborator is the incredibly talented Australian female artist Whitney Spicer, whose paintings reflect an innate love for interiors and design and are inspired by the beauty in life's small, peaceful moments.

Her work fuses contemporary still-life and country living, making everyday things from around the house seem exotic and playful.

Spicer's hope is that every element of her work evokes joy in the homes they adorn. 

Lucy Roleff 

Both escapist and meditative, Lucy Roleff's art is a showcase of accessible pleasures. A musician and artist based in Melbourne, she's held in such high regard that her hyper-real still-life oil paintings can be found in several private collections in Australia, and around the world.

Her paintings explore notions of beauty, purpose and the nature of desire while paying reference to the still-life compositions of bygone eras (with added touches of contemporary). 

It's hard not to be transfixed by both the domestic familiarity and moody grandeur of each piece created by the visual artist. 

Narjia Brownlie

An Australian artist capturing the romanticism of human connection, Narjia Brownlie's paintings celebrate female connection through the central idea of sisterhood. 

Full of dreaminess and whimsy, her work has been inspired by the complex ways women connect, associate and dissociate with one another.

The depiction of abstract female figures coming together in dance and delight, where bodies move and exist together freely, proposes a joyful reclamation of sisterhood that is free of judgement and brimming with promise.

A powerful message in a beautiful package, we can't rate this incredible Australian artist highly enough!

Stacey Rees 

Stacey Rees is a contemporary abstract artist based in Gariwerd (The Grampians) Australia. Working in mostly portraiture, her focus is on the observation of life and people and looking beyond what is on the surface.

Rees has been exhibiting since 2002 and has been a finalist in both the Percival Portrait Prize and The Lester Portrait Prize, a testament to someone who lives and breathes their craft.

Her original paintings can be purchased at Saint Cloche in Sydney or Modern Times in Melbourne, and her studio is occasionally open to public on long weekends, where you'll find a selection of limited edition prints, original paintings, pottery and sculpture available for purchase.

Wendy Hubert

The Australian landscape has never looked more luminous under this exceptional Australian artist's steady painting hand. 

A respected Yindjibarndi Elder, Cultural Custodian and linguist, Wendy Hubert's beautiful paintings are inspirational, to say the least.

Each piece pays vibrant homage to her memories, the stories of the 60,000-year-old Yindjibarndi culture and the Yindjibarndi cultural heroes she has worked with during her lifetime of commitment.

Her work also helps celebrate the Yindjibarndi people's continuing management and care for the West Pilbara tableland country.

Maryanne Moodie

Melbourne- and Brooklyn-based fibre art maker Maryanne Moodie weaves beautiful texture into her personality-packed, colour-happy creations.

Australian art has seen an influx of woven works come onto the scene but what sets Maryanne’s woven wall hangings apart are the unexpected combinations of tone and texture that pay a nostalgic nod to the past.

Maryanne also shares her weaving techniques through workshops and online courses. Her work is available through Fenton & Fenton.

Emma Gale

Emma Gale’s connection and love for Africa inform her vividly realised work. Having lived in Egypt and worked supporting an NGO in Ethiopia has given this Northern NSW-based creative endless inspiration for her layered paintings.

Her instinctual use of colour shape and texture is second to none, and brings another unique perspective to the Australian art scene.

Not only is this talented creative with an artist’s palette, but she’s also quite handy with clay, crafting shapely statement vessels.

Kara Rosenlund

There’s no doubt you will have spotted one of Kara Rosenlund’s incredible photographs on the walls of many a home in an interiors magazine, or even on the magazine cover itself.

This beloved Queensland-based published author is one of the nation's best-known lifestyle image-makers in the Australian art community.

Her photographic work ranges from portraiture to still-life, and all are inspired by and celebrate Mother Nature’s work. Whether you’re after coastal scenes, wild horses or awe-inspiring landscapes from this great southern land, Kara has captured it through her lens.

Kirsten Perry

Melbourne-based, self-taught ceramicist Kirsten Perry is known for her multi-faceted ceramic vessels, bowls and sculptures.

The Australian artist is “attracted to flaws and vulnerabilities”, exploring Japanese aesthetics and the philosophy of wabi-sabi, a way of thinking that celebrates the quiet and contemplative beauty of imperfection, through her pieces.

You’ll find her delicate clay work, produced from her Preston home studio, at crafted design specialists Modern Times and Mr Kitly.

Odette Ireland

Sydney-based ceramic artist Odette Ireland’s highly sought-after mixed-media sculptures are crafted through a mix of slip-casting, press-moulding and slabbing processes from raku, stoneware and porcelain clays.

Ceramic work may be having a moment in the sun right now as an approachable medium of Australian art, but Odette Ireland’s take gives clay another dimension.

Inspired by Alexander Calder’s graphic mobiles, Odette’s work shares the same sense of intrigue and wonder through suspended movement.  

Valma Nakamarra White

Northern Territory-born Valma Nakamarra White comes from a family of artists and those ancestral roots run deep in her vibrant Australian art.

She began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal-owned art centre in Yuendumu, back in 2013.

She depicts her family’s heritage in her homeland, Mijirlparnta (Mission Creek) through a bold and uninhibited palette to express a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

Billie Justice Thomson

Illustrator Billie Justice Thomson brings both a nostalgic and effervescent spirit to everyday items, pantry staples and classic cocktails with her charming work.

The beauty of the everyday is this Adelaide artist’s specialty and the Australian art scene is all the richer for it.

From pencils and plates, to flowers and food, these finely realised illustrations are available in art prints and original paintings on Perspex, available through Modern Times or for a fun take, oversized fridge magnets from her own website.

Kimmy Hogan

Geelong-based digital artist Kimmy Hogan is one of the leaders in accessible, bold and graphic Australian art. Instead of the broad stroke of a paintbrush, she uses a mouse as her creative tool, and carefully layers elements to produce each piece.

Her work is primarily focused on nature, florals and still-lifes, delivered in a balance of deep colour, soft pastel tones and organic forms.

The variety doesn’t stop there – you can also purchase limited-edition or open-edition prints or canvases, framed or unframed. Kimmy’s work is also available at Greenhouse Interiors, a great supporter of Australian art talent. 

From paintings to sculptures, illustrations to digital art, this exhibition of female Australian artists is sure to inspire your next decorating masterstroke.

If you’re looking for more ceramic pieces to lend your home an artful touch, look to our pick of the best Australian ceramic brands, or if you're looking to learn how to harness colour psychology, head on over here.