© Geraldine Buckley
I am a self-taught artist, born in London, UK, in 1948, currently living in Adelaide, South Australia.
I always wanted to be an artist, and like a lot of artists, I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil, and I would draw whenever I could. My childhood was complicated for many reasons, and I had to grow up fast and run the home from an early age, so there was no time for the pursuit of art. But art was considered a serious career back then, so I trained and qualified as a medical researcher and worked mostly in hospitals and once in the pharmaceutical industry.
We lived just outside London, so whenever I could I would go to the nearby Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common, both just short walks away. Here I came to love animals and formed a life-long bond with them and Nature.
My husband and I moved to Australia in 1986, supposedly for just three years but I had a long run of major health problems over the years after that so art wasn’t possible in any serious way.
When things finally returned to something akin to normality, and I had retired, I decided it was time to try and pursue art seriously. I had started initially with graphite, but craved colour, so I moved on to watercolours, but we never really hit it off. So, it was acrylics next, and I worked with those, when possible, for many years, mostly painting birds and animals.
In 2016 I came across Ann Kullberg's web site. Art with coloured pencils? I was blown away by her sheer talent and was amazed at the realistic quality of her work. I couldn’t believe that coloured pencils could produce such amazingly detailed works of art!
Since then I have never looked back. I’ve tried as many pencil and paper brands as I could and generally prefer Pastelmat or Fabriano Artistico for my commissions.
I really love coloured pencils and can fully understand other artist’s enthusiasm and passion for it. I like that it is a constant challenge and learning experience. Mixed media appears a lot now, and I often use pastel pencils, and pan pastels, with coloured pencils.
Ann Kullberg remains an inspiration to me, and I am sure she has been to many CP artists. I am not a confident person and I probably wouldn’t have continued without her support.
I have been published in several volumes of Ann’s “Hidden Treasures” yearly books, the yearly collection book of “Color” magazine for 2022, and her “20th Annual Members Show” book in 2022.
In 2022 it was an honour to be invited to contribute to her “Draw Dogs” tutorial guide.
I was published in Carrie L Lewis’s magazine “CP Magic” gallery year books for 2023 and 2024.
Society Achievements
UKCPSO Signature status 2022