I'm Stephanie Brown and I pretty much live and breathe stuff about art. Mostly I paint portraits, although I do enjoy many other creative pursuits. So every now and then I make a point of stopping what I'm doing and add a little post about the latest painting or project or whatever I've got on the go.
Open Studio Weekend May 19 & 20th 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 2:15PM 
Recently launched is The Artists' Book of which I'm proud to be featured in along with many other talented Australian artists.
The book is available for purchase for $50 from The Art Gallery of NSW bookshop or National Portrait Gallery bookshop. You can also contact Portrait Artists Australia with any inquiries.
Friday, May 18, 2012 at 5:02PM 
I'm opening the Studio this weekend 19th and 20th May as part of the Pittwater Artists Trail. You can download a brochure from the Pittwater Artists Trail website for details of studio locations. There's great beaches and cafes here in the Northern Beaches of Sydney so why not make the most of the sunshine this weekend and drop by and say hello.
I'll have the Face of Extraordinary volunteers collection on exhibiting here at the studio as well as a collection of the CFA firefighters.
The Face of Extraordinary: Volunteers project is a series of painted portraits and their stories. Twenty two inspirational volunteers from the Northern Beaches who are all very different from each other yet share a unique love and dedication to their cause and community. They are the quiet achievers working tirelessly in the background to make a better community for us all. The exhibition and book to be launched later in the year intends to celebrate and bring awareness to those volunteers we rarely get to hear about yet as a community are all enriched by their kindness and generosity.
I have to say a huge thank you to my lovely mother who reorganised my suffering garden and sister Rhonda who helped sort out my chaotic studio. Dont know how I would have pulled it all together without them.
Look forward to seeing you!
Stephanie :)
Friday, March 23, 2012 at 3:55PM 
Really exciting news! I'm going to be featured in a book to be launched in April. The book celebrates 10 years of Portrait Artists Australia and features many incredible Australian artists.
The launch will be held at the Arthouse Hotel, 275 Pitt Street, Sydney. Sunday 22nd April at 6pm.
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 7:53AM 
Siblings, Oil & wax on canvas, 50 x 60cm, ©Stephanie Brown 2012
The latest commission to leave the studio for a new home. I'm onto a new one now. All the commissions lately have been very different to the last with their own unique set of challenges. I guess that keeps the art interesting, pushing the boundaries to learn something new.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 6:15AM 
PJ, Oil on Linen, ©Stephanie Brown 2011
Living in Sydney is not exactly the place to find a thoroughbred horse when you just happen to need one, but as luck would have it and after a little bit of asking around, I came across a lady called Soo Broster of Ardis Equestrian in nearby Terry Hills.
Stephanie's an exhibitor and committee member of Portrait Artists Australia and also available for Animal Portraits.
Friday, October 21, 2011 at 9:39AM 
The Buskers - Khyana & Mardi Gras, oil on linen, 76 x 62 cm, ©Stephanie Brown 2011
My daughter Olivia and I stepped out to enjoy Manly during the school holidays. We just happened to stumble upon a talented musical duo busking with a purple harp in Manly Corso. A young girl called Khyana and her companion a lorrikeet called Mardi Gras. While Mardi Gras ran along the top of the harp plucking at the strings Khyana sang and played, struggling to compete with jack hammers and workmen from a nearby construction site. It was one of the cutest things I'd ever seen.
As I had a portrait exhibition looming in Melbourne with a theme called “All the World’s a Stage” with Portrait Artists Australia, this talented pair just fit the bill. The world to these two is one big stage, so I just had to find out more about the bond shared between these two special friends. Khyana’s mum Terri was keeping watch nearby and so we got chatting. I found out they’d come down from the Central Coast, near Gosford, for a few days holiday. Looked like they were working pretty hard to me.
Mardi Gras was rescued as a baby, found lying in the back yard after a heavy rain storm. She soon became one of the family, taking over the household and developed a special bond with Khyana. They spend hours together singing and dancing, Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga being particular favourites. Mardi’s dance styles include side-stepping, turning in circles and head-banging to the beat. She also loves sitting on Khy’s shoulder as they ride their bike around the neighbourhood. Mardi Gras hates to be left alone and so does everything with the family.
Khyana’s now aged thirteen and went to the local Rudolf Steiner School. The harp was an instrument she was attracted to because of the beautiful sound. She started harp lessons at age nine and has had numerous performance opportunities since then, such as concerts, eisteddfods, local community radio, and busking. A highlight for her was singing and playing solo at the Christchurch Cathedral in Newcastle for Education Week. Khyana now attends a performing arts class at her local high school, sings with a children’s choir and is in the ensemble of a musical theatre group.
No wonder they live without TV, when would they ever get time to watch it? Sounds like a life of bliss to me. Wonder if I can talk my husband and daughter into a NO TV household?
One thing for sure, this talented duo are destined for a great future and I’m so grateful I got the opportunity to bump into them.
Monday, August 29, 2011 at 6:06PM 
THE 30 REALISTS
MARY PLACE GALLERY
PADDINGTON
OPENING 6PM - 8PM - 30 AUGUST
DAILY 10AM - 5PM 31 AUGUST - 4 SEPTEMBER
See this multi award winning group of painters and illustrators for one week only in the heart of Sydney's gallery precinct.
For further information go to www.australianartsales.com.au or phone Mike Coward on 0412638210.
Some of the works at Mary Place Gallery.
Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 11:07AM
Exciting announcement!….drum roll please…… the 'Face of Extraordinary' now has it's very own website called www.faceofextraordinary.com.
Here you'll find the fine art portraits and stories of some of the most awesome people I've been fortunate to meet. In fact who they are and what they achieve are so inspiring that it's only fair they pass on some of that awesomeness to the rest of us, but be warned it may be infectious.
If you feel the need for a pick me up, a reality check or just want to be inspired by someone achieving the extraordinary out of the ordinary, then drop in to www.faceofextraordinary.com and check out the current series in progress.
Let's go on a journey of discovery and see who we can meet next!
Monday, July 11, 2011 at 10:01AM 
The Impossible Pie Lady - Cherie Graham, wax & oil on canvas, 40 x 40, ©Stephanie Brown
Sometimes life just doesn't go to plan and the unexpected disaster happens. Many people now are living week to week, one pay cheque away from the street. So what if you find yourself down on your luck and need a comforting hand to help get you back on track?
That's when you'd meet extraordinary people like Cherie Graham. Cherie has dedicated the last thirty years to volunteer work, Giving her time to such charities as Lifeline and St Vincent de Paul. She was also the first women President at St Vincent de Paul, Brookvale, a position she held for five years.
It was a pleasure to meet Cherie and she was kind enough to share her story with us.
"We pass this way but once, any kindness we can do, do it now."
"When I was a child I imagined there were thousands of pennies hidden in our house, like Scrooge McDuck all shiny in a big tin chest. Then my Grandmother told me that we were actually poor and we had to save the pennies to buy things. She always gave me what I wanted though and if I liked the red coat with the fur collar she would have paid it off over years. She would say 'if you owed it, you didn't own it'.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 9:36AM 
The Driver - Joe Mills, oil & wax on canvas, 40 x 40 cm © Stephanie Brown 2011
A friend of the family had to undergo reconstructive knee surgery recently. Having always been an independent person living alone, they suddenly found themselves housebound recuperating and unable to get anywhere. So what do people do when they find themselves in such a challenging predicament?
They contact an organisation like Manly Warringah Pittwater Community Aid Service. They offer community support assisting the frail, aged, youth with disabilities and carers to remain in their own homes yet still be as independent as possible. That's when youʼd be greeted by a cheerful volunteer like Joe Mills knocking on your door.
I met Joe in a local cafe and he chatted about what led up to being a volunteer and his interesting life.
"Friendly faces will always find each other in a crowd,
Even walking in a street you can always find someone smiling at you.
You think to yourself, that was nice, was I smiling"