🎨 Felicity Rutherford

Raw - Honest - Expressive

Unique - Curious - Resonant

Bringing colour, energy, joy and personality to your space.

Thank you for visiting my page. I trust you’ll enjoy your browse.‍ ‍

‘Thoughtful and evocative with a sensitive use of abstraction’.

Based on the Sunshine Coast Felicity’s practice is informed by the natural environments that surround her, including coastlines, hinterlands, rural spaces and the subtle rhythms of everyday life. While she has painted for many years, recent seasons have seen her dedicate more time to her creative practice, embracing the confidence, curiosity and joy that comes with it.

Working abstractly, Felicity builds layered, textural compositions that feel intuitive and gently considered. Marks, fragments and soft colour shifts come together in works that invite pause rather than demand attention, reflecting memory, landscape and quiet observation rather than direct representation.

Irene Mengel

Gallerist, Aspire Gallery, Brisbane.

🖋️ A note from the artist …

Why Abstract ?

(A question I am often asked).

Instead of painting the literal, I am painting the connection. The sub-conscious link of emotions and memories which are tapped into by the colour choices and marks that I am making on the surface. Whilst, when I start, I have no idea what the work might become, it will lead me on a journey until I find what it is that the depth of my soul is wanting to express.

It is the joy of the creating - the push and pull that gets you to a ‘finished work’ that I love. Being able to look into a painting and see the previous layers - either as texture or as a hazy visual reference, with each layer giving the painting a history and depth which creates a personality all of its own.

I know it sounds crazy - but for me I believe my painting ‘knows’ what it wants to be. It takes me on a journey, and sometimes I end up places that it doesn’t recognise. When the painting gets into the phase of ‘lacking direction’ (it is a thing), I have learned to do something totally random to the work to completely disrupt the current narrative.

The intention of this act is to give me, and the work, a bit of a ‘reset’ which then leads the creative process in a different direction. I firmly believe that because this disruption is usually very expressive and not over-thought, the work starts to wake back up and become more alive and visually exciting. This is usually the catalyst for the process to start to ‘sing’. When this happens, I literally say ‘Oh, there you are !’ I have found where it has been trying to lead me and how it is needing me to respond so it can become what it has always wanted to be.

I also love that depending on the lived experiences and history a viewer brings with them my paintings can be interpreted differently. It is always wonderful to have someone tell me what the painting is communicating to them, and how they perceive it - as very often it is not what I have read it to be.

Hearing other people’s perceptions broadens my appreciation of the work I have created. I always enjoy hearing the interpretations of others and having these interactions with a viewer.

I would like to challenge you to look at my work - and let it speak to you on a deeper level. Keep in mind history and life experiences are carried by us all in very different ways. If you’ve struggled to appreciate abstract artworks before, with this mindset you might find that you see more in the work than a random collection of marks and colours that you find hard to understand. I hope that you will accept the challenge, and that by letting yourself become immersed in the emotion of the work you gain a deeper understanding of not only yourself, but also my abstract practice.

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On a personal level, I am a fairly quiet, reserved and modest person.  I have confidence in myself, but am not one to ‘shout it from the rooftops’.  My aim is always to be the very best version of myself, and to boost other people around me to have confidence in themselves and believe in their self-worth as the individuals that they are.

🏆 Awards & Recognition

Felicity’s work has been honoured across Queensland :

• 🥇 2026 – Selected to be included in the ‘Top 100 - Petite Pieces’ Exhibition - Aspire Gallery Brisbane.

• 🥇 2025 – Monthly Finalist – Aspire Galleries Annual 'Unveiled' Competition

• 🥇 2025 – Winner, Members Award – Matthew Flinders Art Prize

• 🏅 2023 – People’s Choice Award – Foot Square Competition, Aspire Gallery

• 🥇 2023 – Best Acrylic Painting – Immanuel Arts Festival

• 🥇 2023 – 2nd Place – Matthew Flinders Art Prize

• 🎖️ 2015 – Honourable Mention – Caloundra Regional Gallery

• 🎖️ 2014 – Finalist – Local Artists Competition, Caloundra

• 🎖️ 2010 – Highly Commended – Tewantin Local Artist Competition

Felicity’s paintings now hang in homes across Australia and overseas — bringing joy, energy, and emotional depth to collectors around the world.

📬 Contact

I have selected a few of the works from my portfolio to list for you to view here. If you are thinking you might like something a little bigger (or a lot bigger) please feel free to explore more.

I am also on instagram and facebook if you would like to follow along and see what I am up to. I hope to see you there.

If you’d like more information about any of these works - or others that are not displayed here - please feel free to contact me.

• The artworks displayed on this page are ‘The Song and Dance of the Night Garden’ and ‘Moods Of Maleny’ Series.

• The artwork used as the background to this page is ‘Moments of Clarity Lost In Time’

Now, Let the fun begin …