Antonia Black was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1938 and she began her creative life at The National Art School in Sydney.

Arriving in London at The Slade School of Fine Art in 1961 – 1967 Antonia found that Watercolour was too ‘thin’ to paint with.

As an oil painter and watercolourist discovering Gouache (opaque watercolour) gave her the added intensity of oil that she needed as a colourist, it changed everything. Suddenly colours started to appear and burst through onto the white paper!   Still life paintings became more exhilarating, colours were blended and all from her many palettes.

Antonia is a decorative painter who in time has explored the joy of painting in ‘small dots’ known as Pointillism. This was not successful with Watercolour as Gouache dries rapidly and the small dots do not run. Antonia also uses sepia ink (dip pen) and oil crayon which she loves, as it adds contour and enhances the work.

Travelling the globe with brushes, paints and sketch books sitting on a vibrating bus through India, resting on the hot sand in Central Australia and standing on an Ancient stone in Egypt, Antonia completes all her painting directly on the spot.

Antonia’s loves, influences and passions were Matisse, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Signac, Fauves and Andre Derain which can all be seen in her work in every brush stroke.