Laura Patterson

Laura Patterson is a Brisbane/Meanjin-based artist whose practice is informed by her architectural background and a fascination with the landscape, in particular remnant rainforests and tree ferns.

While interest across historical research and technical precision underpin her work, her central focus is on capturing the ambiguity that exists between the reality and the illusion of her figurative landscapes. Through an intuitive push and pull between expressive mark-making, layering and carefully rendered detail, the resulting paintings balance the ephemeral with the observed, creating moments where reality and illusion converge in unexpectedly poetic ways.

In Autumn 2025, Patterson undertook a month-long residency at the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart, awarded through the 2024 Hadley’s Art Prize. This residency allowed her to explore plein air depictions of Mt Field National Park and the surrounding Maydena Ranges, where she encountered atmospheric conditions entirely distinct from the subtropical forests north of Brisbane. Returning several times to a particularly remote part of the forest, the resulting paintings relay her experiences of awe and moments of slight unease.

“In the preliminary stages of a landscape painting, my mind is preoccupied with an odd type of mantra about capturing the ‘ghosts’ of the thing, or a translation of the spirit or genius loci of a place.

To my mind, this ‘spirit’ realm is composed of gestural forms, emotion and memory, serving as a complementary dimension to the detailed particulars of the place. It’s an interesting way to move through a space, alternating between experiencing and observing.

Translating this alternation between feelings and realities in paint was something I experimented with during my residency in Nipaluna/Hobart. I worked quickly and directly from the landscape with small additions made back in the studio.

I learnt quite a few things while working outdoors, notably; I now have a heightened respect for the toughness of cold climate plein air painters, and also that under certain conditions, tree ferns can morph into disconcertingly spooky figures.” —Laura Patterson, 2025

Patterson holds a Masters of Architecture from University of Queensland. Her work has been recognised in several prestigious art prizes; in 2024 she won the Hadleys Art Prize Residency Prize, in 2020 she was awarded Highly Commended in the Glover Prize and in 2019 she won the Milburn Art Prize.