Celia Perceval
“A good painting should never just be seen once, it should always draw you in and reveal something new. Just like the landscape itself.”
Celia Perceval is an Australian painter known for her immersive engagement with the natural environment. For decades, she has ventured deep into the bush, working en plein air in remote locations far from the comforts of the studio. Her artistic process is grounded in stillness, patience, and physical presence: “The longer you sit in one remote spot in the bush, the more you become part of it,” she explains. Rather than imposing order on the landscape, Perceval seeks to become attuned to its rhythms allowing the terrain to speak through her brushwork. Her approach is not one of control but of quiet surrender, responding to what remains of the wilderness with reverence and restraint. Over the years, she has become recognised for her powerful depictions of the Australian landscape, with works held in regional and private collections across the country and overseas.
Perceval’s paintings are not simply visual impressions of place; they are multisensory evocations of being within it. Her brushwork hums with the movement, scent, and sound of the bush producing works that are alive with atmosphere and emotional depth. “I feel like I’m painting what’s left of that landscape. I wish we could just be part of it,” she says. In this way, her art resists the notion of landscape as a passive backdrop, instead asserting it as a living, breathing entity. With each canvas, she invites viewers to return again and again, uncovering new dimensions over time.
Works by the artist
