Pleasance Ingle has always been a painter, she says her mother delivered

the inheritance in the womb, since she has been making art for as long as

she remembers…and probably longer.

She never had any doubt that she would spend her life making art, but the

demands of life also led her into theatre, working with costumes, keeping

actors clad for seasons of performance.

Theatre fed into her painting, as have all her occupations. Living in Greece,

introduced her to a different aesthetic and the everyday ancient, beside the

very simple ways of life. Latterly, as a teacher she admits that her students

taught her as much as she showed them. Their originality and energy were

lessons in themselves. Her own children taught her how complicated things

could be, and how wonderful.

She uses photographic documentation as source material (and thanks to

the gods for the smart phone) that becomes integrated into compositions,

both real and imagined. There is a degree of realism in all the work,

everything is recognisable. Mostly these are oils on canvas or linen and

also frequently gouache on paper for the immediacy. With art (usually)

being about our inner worlds, this is her way to process and engage with all

sorts of existential questions and observations that could be allegories of

the human condition.

She has a Bachelor of Art (Education) and has been exhibiting since the

80’s, has had 13 solo shows and been a finalist in numerous art prizes.

Since moving to the Blue Mountains she has built a new studio from which

to watch birds and listen to the trees while making new work.