About Joanne Bingham
Having enjoyed a successful career in the United Kingdom as an artist, illustrator and art tutor, Joanne has been building her reputation within Australia as an accomplished and experienced artist and teacher. She has had a number of solo exhibitions and been invited to enter many group exhibitions. Although she specialises in animals, her portfolio includes people, food, landscapes and flowers. She works and teaches from her own home studio, as well as teaching from Oxlades art shop, The Tank Art Centre and other venues in the region.
Jo is the facilitator of the Art Program within the Junction Clubhouse in Cairns, and provides creative support to individuals living with disability under their NDIS funding.
In 2024 Jo started a YouTube channel (@JoanneBinghamaa) for those who couldn’t attend her classes and workshops, and now enjoys a growing audience of art and animal lovers.
Art Achievements
2023 Cairns Art Society Annual Art Awards winner of the Best Drawing and Best Watercolour.
2024 Cairns Art Society Annual Art Awards winner of the Best Drawing and Highly Commended for Best Watercolour.
2024 Highly Recommended in the Optional Theme – My North Queensland – Then and Now, Artists of the North.
2024 Winner of the Watercolour section in the Bird Art Annual Awards in Tito Wetlands Gallery.
She began her art career in graphite, watercolours and oil paints, learning through mistakes and successes, honing her skills, trying different brands of paint, brushes and surfaces in order to achieve the most lifelike and realistic portraits that she could. The discovery of the versatility of coloured pencils is a fairly recent and exciting one, and she is still pushing their boundaries with every new picture to find out what they can do. Jo’s most recent works are experimental pen drawings, still based in realism, but full of life and colour.
“With great excitement Bear’s portrait finally arrived today, and I could not be happier! He is most definitely larger than life and I love it! He makes me smile every time I look at him. Sandy, owner of Bear.
The thread running through each new medium is one of quality and consistency, each one lending itself to new and innovative techniques. Coloured pencils and graphite can be layered, blended and used with other media to produce a wide range of textures – particularly suited to fur and eyes. Pen and ink allows for spontaneity and definition, bringing a contemporary and illustrative finish to pictures. If you are unsure which medium or style you are looking for, take time to browse the gallery and pick out which ones particularly appeal to you.
Having relocated to Cairns in 2021, she has worked hard to find her creative feet in this vibrant city. She took on the role of secretary of the Cairns Art Society and began entering all of the local exhibitions and art awards. She is now a busy workshop facilitator, YouTuber and artist, and loving it all!