Ebony Bennett

Ebony is a nature artist and illustrator, specialising in Australian wildlife, landscape and plants. She grew up in the Hunter Valley Region of New South Wales, on a rural property surrounded by bushland and wildlife. As a result, she has always been fascinated and inspired by nature and the ever-changing beauty of the Earth’s natural landscapes.

Ebony’s first painting was at the age of nine when she was inspired after camping on a property at Birdwood, west of Wauchope, NSW.  With the assistance of her grandmother,  she was able to capture the beautiful landscape that she saw on paper. Throughout her time in high school and university, she continued to paint and draw in her spare time.

After completing a degree in Environmental Science, Ebony began working full-time in science-related positions in Canberra, all the while still painting in any spare moment, she finally realised that painting was her passion, and began working towards becoming a full-time artist by enrolling in Natural History Illustration at the University of Newcastle.

She attained a Class 1 Honours with her project ‘Beneficial Garden Critters’ and then she continued on to complete a Masters in Philosophy (Natural History Illustration) of which she studied the various light effects experienced in different Australian environments. Titled ‘From Sea to Snow: Illustrating the Effect of Light and Colour on the Natural World, A Visual Interpretation’, the exegesis focuses on the historical, modern and cultural uses of light in artworks, and her artworks focus on the effect of light on five environments; coastal, grassland, woodland, forest and alpine.

Now with a Masters in Natural History Illustration, Ebony paints in the Hunter Valley and Canberra regions, where her work is displayed in the Aarwun Gallery in Gold Creek (ACT), CStudios Art Gallery in Newcastle (NSW) and on her website galleries.