Our Artists
Emily Holsman
Emily Holsman was born in Melbourne, Australia.
An award winning artist, she lives and works in the idyllic coastal village of Balnarring on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
Emily is the product of a very creative family. Her mother painted with both oils and pastels, her father is an accomplished wood carver, while her sister plays and teaches no less than six musical instruments. To top it off, her grandfather was a concert pianist.
All the same, she didn’t start painting herself until 2006.
‘I used to drive past a sign near Merricks advertising Art Classes – Oil and Pastel’ Emily says. ‘Eventually I made a call and turned up one day, just to have a look really.’
She decided to concentrate on pastels and was amazed when a picture framer was so impressed with her work that he offered to frame her very first painting for free.
Emily’s local environment continues to prove a tremendous motivation for her painting. ‘I marvel at the beauty in the world that surrounds me’ she says. ‘Capturing the essence of it is fulfilling and absorbing. It gives me a tremendous focus and a sense of well being.’
The images she creates are both beautiful and joyful. Each one stirring feelings of pride, achievement and satisfaction.
Emily takes great joy in the pleasure that her work brings to other people. Even a simple greeting card featuring one of her pictures can bring a smile to someone’s face.
‘I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t paint’ she says. ‘I would simply be lost. Painting is not so much what I do. It’s what I am.’
Linda D Finch
Linda Finch studied graphic art at Box Hill TAFE in the early 1980s.
Her course included life and still life drawing, painting in various mediums, airbrushing, photography, design and colour to name but a few.
She later worked for many years (as a graphic artist / studio manager) with one of Melbourne’s leading Design Studios before starting her family.
Freelance graphic design work kept her busy at home, while she pursued her painting interests attending several workshops and classes.
She has since been involved in any number of art exhibitions and private shows and has received numerous awards for her work.
Linda serves on the committee of The Pastel Society of Victoria, she is a member of The Australian Guild of Realist Artists, a member of The Pastel Palette Group and she teaches Pastel Painting at the Manningham Arts Centre.
Linda Finch’s paintings reflect her lifestyle; she loves the outdoors and is often surrounded by children.
Her art is her passion and her escape, with pastel being her preferred medium.
Kate Collins
Kate Collins studied Art and Design at Stourbridge College of Art in the United Kingdom – majoring in Textile Design.
After immigrating to Australia, she enrolled at Melbourne’s Botanical Art School and completed a course in Botanical Drawing at Peninsula TAFE.
She now lives in the beautiful Upper Yarra Valley, where the nature that surrounds her provides a constant inspiration.
In addition to landscapes and portraits, she enjoys painting animals, often including flora in her compositions.
Kate has won several awards and had numerous articles published in Australian Artist magazine.
She is a member of the Pastel Society of Victoria, the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and Warburton’s ARTrageous Painters’ Group.
