Robyn Koiker is a watercolour artist who is largely self-taught, with a love of painting animals. She often does this from pictures of pets that have passed, supplied by her clients. Her paintings look fresh and impressive, and I understand clients saying that these images have brought pets back to life beyond any photograph. Perhaps, reigniting memories of experiences and passions for a pet faded through the passage of time.
I met Robyn in her modern studio (situated on a St Andrews hillside) with vast floor to ceiling windows and glass sliding door providing panoramic views across hills to central Melbourne. Any stress levels fell away. Inside, the walls are adorned with her paintings.
Robyn and husband Peter have lived in a mud-brick house, further up the hill of this thirty acre property, for thirty-seven years, raising three daughters and now with two grandchildren. While family activities keep her busy, she does manage blocks of time devoted to painting in her studio.
For Robyn, watercolours enable a lightness of touch and a fineness of detail that mirror the way she works, painting a variety of animals, (not just pets), and scenes / landscapes. Her large sea gull and seal paintings have been very popular and sell well.
She has been exhibiting since 2002 at a number of art installations, at the Eltham library for quite a few years, and also entering the Royal Melbourne Show resulting in a first prize for a cockatoo head in 2019; a third for a koala in 2022 and a highly commended for a wren in 2023.
She grew up loving animals and it shines through today. Robyn of course does commissions, sells paintings and a vast array of cards.
You can visit through artistopenstudios.com.au or contact directly: 0419 581 319; [email protected].
