A Life in Colour: Spotlighting Colin Passmore
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Some artists choose their home. Others are chosen by it. When Colin Passmore relocated from Western Australia to Noosa in 1982, something clicked — and the Sunshine Coast has been woven into his work ever since.
Over four decades later, Passmore stands as one of Australia's most widely collected artists, with works held in private and corporate collections across the U.S.A., Canada, England, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East, New Zealand, Holland, and throughout Australia. He has exhibited in nearly every major Australian city and was a featured artist in Tokyo in 1999. Yet for all that international reach, his work remains unmistakably rooted in place.
The Paperbark Series
Among Colin's most beloved bodies of work is his iconic Paperbark Series — a deeply personal exploration of the coastal landscapes that surround him on the Sunshine Coast. The paperbark tree, with its layered, luminous bark and quiet presence along Queensland's waterways, has become one of his signature subjects. These paintings are richly coloured, engrossingly expressive, and instantly recognisable — what collectors and critics alike describe as unmistakably a Passmore.
Expressive, Graphic, Unforgettable
What sets Colin's work apart is a graphic sensibility that gives every piece a striking visual confidence. His paintings are never tentative. Whether he's capturing the stillness of a coastal wetland or the bold geometry of the Australian outback in his Desert Series, there is an energy and decisiveness to his mark-making that draws the eye and holds it.
Over the past decade, some of his most creative breakthroughs have come through site-specific commissions — works created in close collaboration with designers and private clients who have given him the freedom to push his practice into new territory.
Forty Years in the Making
Colin's first major commission came in 1986, when he produced 50 oil paintings for the Seahaven Resort in Noosa — a milestone that cemented his reputation and set the tone for a career built on ambition, craft, and an unrelenting curiosity about what painting can do.
He continues to exhibit on his own terms, featuring in galleries and collections within Australia and around the world.
Explore His Work
Studio One Noosa is proud to present a curated selection of Colin Passmore's fine art prints — each one a testament to a practice that has only deepened with time.
Explore Colin Passmore's Collection
Studio One Noosa celebrates artists who bring beauty, meaning, and craft to the walls of homes across Australia.