‘Lemon Sucker, Blanket Thief’

These paintings are a series of abstract invisible portraits. Each painting portrays a person, not what they look like but what they feel like. Perhaps they might feel like a person you know too.

 Is it possible to portray someone without showing their face?

 Challenging the formal ideas of portraiture, this work plays on the way people are defined by labels. Each painting visualises a personality by referencing colour, movement, common objects and human quirks.

 This work is a celebration of the small human details that make us unique.

 To me, simple everyday objects are loaded with character. It’s the little mundane things that are often more meaningful. They are what reminds you of someone when they are not around.

 We are all collections of stories waiting to be told.

 Exploring these stories over the past 14 months has been highly enjoyable. I hope this shines through in the work - it’s my intention that these paintings are joyous and affectionate. This series has united previously unrelated areas of my life - psychology, storytelling, painting and illustration.

Opening night pics

Some shot of my solo show ‘Lemon Sucker, Blanket Thief’ at Jan Manton Gallery.

‘Lemon Sucker, Blanket Thief’

While I’ve been planning the layout of my show in Brisbane next week I’ve been playing with the configurations of what goes where. It’s amazing what a difference it makes - what artwork sits side by side. Not sure if I’ll end up hanging them this way but I found they land naturally in pairs. The larger more abstract pieces sit really well with a smaller storytelling piece. Thought I’d share.

Solo show in Brisbane

‘Lemon Sucker, Blanket Thief’ is my upcoming solo show at Artspace Jan Manton Gallery in Tenerife, Brisbane. The paintings are abstract invisible portraits. Each painting is a person I know. Not what they look like but what they feel like. Perhaps they might feel like a person you know too.

I’m so excited to share this body of work with you. I’ve been working on it for about 14 months, in between exploring other series. It’s something I keep coming back to so I’m happy to have explored it and be bringing it to you in a dedicated space. The paintings are full of character and stories and really authentically ‘me’.

Please join me on October 16th at 6pm for opening night drinks. The show goes for just one week so closes on the Sunday.

The online catalogue will be available this week.

Group show in Sydney

‘A Matter Of Scale’ is a collaborative group show opening Saturday 4th September at Traffic Jam Galleries - 187 William st, Darlinghurst.

I have four new release pieces showing. All are 45 × 54cm paintings, box framed in timber. These works are available in person at the gallery or online.

‘Hope Hotel’

‘Certain About Everything And Nothing’

‘Sun Sitting’

‘If I Was To Meditate It Would Be Here’

Melbourne Affordable Art Fair

Sharing this new collection of work with Stevens Street Gallery at the Melbourne Affordable Art Fair August 27-30. The catalogue is available on the Stevens Street website if you’d like to enquire about a piece.

‘Flow’ public art piece

‘Flow’ is a public art piece for Noosa Council covering the new community solar battery in Noosaville. The artwork draws inspiration from our local reef, waterways and coastal forest landscapes in Noosa. Undulating interconnected forms reference both the land and sea, echoing patterns in nature and symbolising the flow of energy and connection in our community.

I really enjoyed being outside painting this mural, the process was so satisfying and there are no other distractions. It has inspired me to keep an eye out for other public art or mural opportunities.

A big thanks to Belinda Van Zanen for her beautiful photography documenting my process and to Locate Noosa for connecting the dots.

Seabourne showing

Throughout July I’ll be showing a new collections of work at Seabourne Gin Distillery in the industrial estate in Noosaville. The main event will be this Sunday July 5th - Soundtrips are putting on Vinyl Lounge, Spice Girl are catering, it’s going to be a fun afternoon.

It feels great to be showing locally in Noosa for the first time - my studio is just around the corner and Seabourne is such a great space. Seems crazy to have been having all these shows in big cities and not where I live.

Pieces are available for purchase via QR code. Looking forward to sharing more of this collection soon online but for now it’s just in person at Seabourne.

New commission piece

I very much loved this project! The brief for this large commission piece was soft blues and pinks. The painting measures 1.8 x 1.4m, a custom sizing to fit above a large fireplace. Box framing in walnut connected the painting with another large piece of mine in the same room.

With commission pieces I’m happy to work with the colourways and sizings to perfectly fit your space and harmonise with what’s in the room. It’s so satisfying to create something that the collector is thrilled with.

‘Sanctuary’

‘Sanctuary’ opens this Saturday May 30 from 4 to 6pm at Traffic Jam Galleries in Darlinghurst Sydney. I’m excited to share these pieces which capture a moment in time when things felt soft and simple. Water runs through this body of work - I painted these pieces after spending many hours in the sea for days on end. I was feeling extremely calm and I painted slowly, savouring the process and restraining from overworking the compositions.

‘Sanctuary’ - Upcoming Sydney Show

‘Sanctuary’ is a duo show with myself and Roxanne Lillis at Traffic Jam Galleries. The opening is May 30th from 4 to 6pm at their new-ish gallery location on William St in Darlinghurst. I’m really looking forward to sharing this body of work, which fell out of a period of calm and slowness while travelling. Here’s a preview of what’s to come, I’ll share more here soon.

‘Sanctuary’ - a duo show at Traffic Jam Galleries May/June 2026.

Brisbane Affordable Art Fair

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the paintings coming to the Affordable Art Fair in Brisbane this May 7-11. For a pre-show preview catalogue with prices, please shoot me a message or contact Stevens Street Gallery.

Brisbane Affordable Art Fair May 7-11 2026

For the past two years I’ve visited the Brisbane Affordable Art Fair and been really impressed by the buzz. I wasn’t sure if Brisbane was going to bring it but they really did.

I’m thrilled to have my work there this year with the awesome ladies at Stevens Street Gallery. I will have a range of fresh, joyful pieces on offer with sizes varying from 40cm to 150cm. I’ll share the catalogue here closer to the time but here are some studio glimpses in the lead up.

Recent commissions

2026 has kick off with some really fantastic private projects. Below are a preview of some of the commissions I’ve been working on.

The brief for this Perth commission was bring on the brightness.

The final finishing touch to a very stunning home. This piece stands in the entry way, visible from the street.

This collector has another large piece and wanted a second painting to go on the other side of the room. The second piece needed to compliment and talk to the first painting but stand alone.

This smaller 46cm x 46cm piece was commissioned to go on a gallery wall to go with an original piece from the clients great uncle. More photos of the project to follow.

Some snaps from my solo show

‘Quiet Joys’ opened on a soggy Saturday morning in torrential rain. I was so appreciate for all the lovely people who managed to come and take a look at the show. It was great to show this body of work in Sydney - these pieces really feel authentic to me and I can’t wait to create more.

Erm not the best photo of me but whatever.

Was so chuffed to see my painting in the window. The gallery actually calls themselves ‘Traffic Jam Galleries’ because they used to be in Neutral Bay for many years at a major intersection. People who see the art while they were stopped in traffic. This is their first art exhibition on William Street in Darlinghurst but the same still applies.

This large scale original artwork ‘Wabi Sabi’ (1.55m x 1.55m) went to a lovely new collector in Canberra.

The space in Darlinghurst on William St next to King Street Gallery and not too far from some of my fav restaurants.

‘Last Minute Plans’ and ‘Forwards In Slow Motion’

‘Quiet Joys’ - Solo show in Sydney

I’m excited to be presenting a body of work at Traffic Jam Galleries new space in Darlinghurst, Sydney. The collection is titled ‘Quiet Joys’ and features works ranging in size from 65cm squared to 1.55m squared.

The collection is available to view and purchase online at https://trafficjamgalleries.com/artists/farquhar-sophie/

Large scale commission paintings

It’s been my pleasure to create some custom large scale paintings this year for clients on the Sunshine Coast and beyond.

An original custom piece really adds something special. At this stage I’m open to working with certain colour ways that harmonise with spaces. Here are some images of a couple of the projects from 2025.

Wentworth Gallery Brisbane

They put out an open call to emerging artists back in August and I’m thrilled to have been selected to be part of the show. There are six South East Queensland artists exhibiting and we each have three pieces on display. Feel free to join us for a drink this Friday 5:30pm.

Currently at Art To Art Gallery

These two pieces are hanging out at Art to Art in Hawthorne Melbourne. They are both 95cm x 95cm, box framed in timber.

‘The Something Club’

‘Sit Down It’s Saturday’

Lethbridge Gallery Small Scale Award

Happy to be selected for the 2025 Salon Des Refuses at Lethbridge Gallery in Brisbane. From what I understand it’s the shortlist of paintings chosen from a pool of 800 entries and then there have the finalists. The quality of the art is really amazing. I can’t believe some of them aren’t finalists but of course it’s all subjective and there are so many entries. I feel like I discover a new artist I love just about every day. So great to see so many people creating wonderful things.