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Greta Hounslow is an Australian artist known for her evocative paintings that draw deeply from her connection to nature and her extensive travels. Her work, which blends abstract forms with elements of Australiana and colourful patchwork landscapes, invites viewers into a rich, immersive experience that transcends time and place.
Greta grew up in a creative family, waking up at sunrise to the rhythmic sound of her father forging and hammering in his shed. Her love for drawing transformed into a passion for painting after her grandmother took her along to an oil painting class at the age of ten. Greta's artistic journey expanded as she studied painting, ceramics and photography in college, earning awards in all three disciplines.
Her adventurous spirit took her travelling across Australia for a decade, where she always had a sketchbook and a guitar within reach. However, it wasn’t until she became a mother and returned to her hometown of Hobart, Tasmania, that she felt the compelling urge to paint again. Her sunny home studio by the sea now serves as a sanctuary where she translates her connection to Mother Earth and extensive travels through remote Australia into her paintings.
Working intuitively, Greta often enters a meditative state, invoking old memories and emotions, drawing viewers into an ephemeral narrative that transcends the layered canvas. Nature serves as her foremost muse, with the vibrant and earthy hues, textures, and inherent magic of the beach and bushland profoundly influencing her daily rituals and artistic practice.
Greta received third place in Revival Art and Design Gallery's Emerging Artist Prize 2024 and was a Finalist for the same prize in 2023 and 2025. She was selected as a Bluethumb rising star 2025, a Finalist in Corner Store Gallery’s ‘Inside This Box’ Art Prize consecutively 2022-2025. She was also a Finalist in Leda Gallery and The Non Gallery Art Prizes 2024. She has also participated in numerous group shows across the country.
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Tell us the story of this work. What inspired it? What does it mean to you?
“The black cockatoo glides above wave rock. He has been here many times before and feels the stories and energy from times past. It feels familiar and safe. The wise bird knows where he needs to be now and continues on his journey west towards the ocean.”
Tell us about how you created your work.
“I work intuitively and enter a meditative state whilst painting, I never know what may evolve on the canvas. It’s always so exciting when a piece is resolved, comes to life to tell me a story. The essence of the Australian landscape continually channels through me, to the brush and onto the easel.”
What particular challenges came from working on a piece of this size?
“I absolutely love working BIG! The challenge is going back to small after being able to dance freely across a canvas.”
What do you hope people feel when they see your work?
“I hope the viewer connects with the energy of the painting and absorbs the calming flow of woven colour and inspired essence of the Australian outback.”
Greta Hounslow, 2025.
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