Queensland Wildlife Artists Society Incorporated

Janna Pameijer: Exhibiting Life member.

Jean Petersen: Exhibiting member.

Samantha Pettigrew: Exhibiting member.

With twin boys to care for, Samantha tries to paint as much as possible.
“After years of work with many small successes, I have finally gained the confidence to put my paintings out there, and hope to mature as an artist in the public view. A special happiness to me is being able to paint all day! Painting for me is the process, planning and drawing, laying the first paint on paper, the fear and anxiety that goes along with that”.
Samantha is inspired by the antics displayed by birds along with the beauty and spectacle of flowers. She is drawn to colour in wildlife and in landscapes.

Judith Prior: Exhibiting member.

Judith spent the first years of her life on a dairy farm in Somerset England, before her family migrated to Australia and settled on a farm in Toowoomba, Qld. Surrounded by nature, as a child growing up,
she became aware of "the rhythm of life”, the changing of the seasons, the unpredictable weather patterns, and our affinity with all animal life. This instilled in her a deep and abiding respect for "Mother Nature" in all her powerful, mysterious and complex forms. This has been an enduring source of inspiration for her paintings.

Trained as an Art teacher at Kelvin Grove Teacher's College, Brisbane, Judith spent successful years working as a textile designer in Melbourne's fashion industry, using bird, animal and wildflower motifs in many of her designs.

Judith uses gouache on paper, acrylics on canvas or board, and lately has started experimenting in oils.
She welcomes commissions, including illustrative work for books, scientific journals etc., and pet portraits set in an environment which reflects the character and unique personality of the animal.

Nick Quiel: Exhibiting member.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, I spent the first twelve years of my childhood in the mining town of Mount Isa, North Queensland.

In 1966 our family migrated to South Africa where I attended school. The schools that I attended did not have Art as a subject so I sketched as a hobby.

 After leaving school I did very little art. I trained and practiced as a mechanical design draughtsman.
Having lived in South Africa for 33 years, in 1999 I returned to Australia with my wife, daughter and son and settled in Brisbane.

I started painting in 2006 when my Daughter gave me a set of oil paints as a gift.
I am self taught through trial and error, reading art magazines and manuals on “how to....”, and going to art galleries.
I enjoy painting wildlife as I have always been a nature lover and an outdoor person. In South Africa we lived a two and half hour car journey from the Kruger National Park and visited there at least twice a year. In 2007 and 2009 I returned to the Kruger National Park where I photographed flora and everything that moved as reference material.

Anyone wishing to contact me is welcome: Email: Nick Quiel

Jacqui Rahley: Exhibiting member.

Andy Reimanis: Exhibiting member. www.calderaart.org.au

Andy works with two distinct approaches to subject matter. The first one involves painting an opportunistic wildlife encounter......a fleeting scene, usually full of vitality and movement. Having experienced these ‘magic moments’ himself out in the field, he then relies on wildlife photographers who have captured something similar on film, to assist with the detail.
The second approach is to paint a focussed portrait or ‘study’, an eye-to-eye connection with the subject. The artwork is firmly about the subject matter, not distracted by styles, interpretation or opinions. “I don’t presume to mess around with it.....just try to do justice to the way nature intended. Sometimes I just paint the subject larger than life”.