Fiona Smith paints birds with the same sensitivity she once brought to her work as a writer.Her paintings are marked by patience, respect for detail, curiosity, and a deep affection for thecharacters she portrays.Raised on the edge of a national park in Australia, Fiona grew up surrounded by wildlife thatfelt like part of her extended family. Confident rainbow lorikeets would perch on her headand shoulders, and a swaggering magpie often followed her around. She watched the dailycomings and goings of sea eagles, fairy penguins, wallabies, possums, and blue-tonguedlizards. These moments etched themselves into her memory, and decades later, the birds re-emerge in her work — posing gracefully against patterned backdrops adapted from antiquewallpapers and textiles.Fiona did not take the most direct path to painting. For many years she built a successfulcareer as a journalist, honing her skills in observation and narrative. Eventually, the pull ofthe studio became stronger than the newsroom, and she has spent the past decade devoted toher life as an artist.Her paintings invite you to pause. A heron meets your gaze from the curve of an upholsteredchair. A roseate spoonbill seems ready to share tea in the conservatory. Each bird is renderedin exquisite detail, its surroundings rich with texture and history. There is a touch of theatre ineach scene — a sense that it has been arranged just for your arrival.These works are less about ornithology than about connection. Fiona gathers objects andsubjects for her compositions carefully and instinctively, creating a body of work that blendsnatural history with design, and realism with a hint of whimsy.Her distinctive style has found homes in private and corporate collections across continents,resonating with those who see in her work a celebration of beauty. Click here to view: Fiona Smith Artwork Catalog