GRAEME STEVENSON OAM – 29/6/1958 – 5/6/2022
Artist
Influencer
Art Marketer
Public Speaker and Business Coach
TV Host and personality
CEO and Founder of Put Some Colour In Your life TV show
World Traveller
Graeme Stevenson was an indomitable personality, born with a passion and devotion to the arts that was unparalleled.
Graeme’s thirst for knowledge and adventure drove his many and varied interests all his life, all of which stemmed from an innate curiosity about the world. He held a firm belief that “art is supposed to be the greatest social commentary in the world – it’s a confrontation – it’s about saying who we are, when we are, and why we are”.
Graeme battled a debilitating nerve condition for years before succumbing to it, surrounded by his loved ones on Sunday 5th June, 2022.
Born in New South Wales, Australia, Graeme Stevenson’s passion for art began at age 5, knowing even then that he wished to become an artist. He took his first art lessons at age 11. In spite of always getting into trouble in school for drawing instead of writing, he reached the hall of fame in both schools he attended.
“Somehow drawing just seemed more natural to me, though it exasperated some of my teachers.”
Alongside art, Graeme studied martial arts and bred Australian parrots, learning falconry and studying taxidermy in his teenage years. Through these hobbies, Graeme gained a better understanding of avian anatomy. This would prove invaluable as he combined it with his passion for art, using his pet birds as subjects and starting his journey as a wildlife artist.
After leaving school, he took up carpentry and became a paramedic while attending the Sydney Art College for five years, but left his career as a paramedic in his early 20s to travel the globe. He obtained a pilot license at 21 and has since traveled around the world at least 20 times, living in five countries, in search of subjects to paint. Graeme became a wildlife artist, photographer, explorer, and naturalist.
He was commissioned in 1988, at the age of thirty, to provide every image for “The Atlas of Parrots,” which is one of the largest editions in the world regarding parrots. Published in 1991, the book remains one of the greatest reference books on the subject and can be found in natural history museums around the world, including New York, London, and Paris.
His works have been featured prominently in U.S. Art Magazines and International Artist Magazine, which referred to Graeme as a ‘master artist’. Graeme is also a dynamic public speaker who lectures on topics such as wildlife, painting, science, philosophy and building an art career.
Graeme is perhaps best known for creating the award-winning TV show, ‘Colour In Your Life’, which chronicles the techniques and personalities of artists from around the globe to promote creativity and a love of art. The show premiered in 2010, and as of 2021, is in its 22nd season.
On Australia Day, Jan 26th, 2017, Graeme received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) ‘for service to the visual arts’. The award is one of the highest honours an Australian citizen can receive.
Graeme donates his time and talents. In 2003, he raised funds for AIDs, multiple sclerosis research, and children’s cancer research in the U.S. for the Ripple Effect Project. Three of the works were collected by former President Bill Clinton. He also established a charitable foundation, ‘Paint Your Life’, in 2013, which uses art to brighten the lives of the disadvantaged or physically impaired.
As of 2021, Colour In Your Life is digitally online anywhere in the world, with film crews in Australia, America, and England. Over 250 episodes have been recorded; featured artists are enjoying great reviews and progressing their careers, and over 100,000 subscribers can view any episode totally free of charge.
EXHIBITIONS
| 2019 Asia Contemporary Art Show Hong Kong |
| 2017 Redhill Gallery Brisbane |
| 2015 Escape Gallery Australia |
| 2013 Sydney Art Expo |
| 2013 Graydon Gallery Brisbane |
| 2011 Melbourne Trade Show |
| 2010 Perculator Gallery Brisbane |
| 2008 Fine Art Showcase Los Angeles |
| 2004 Escape Gallery Australia |
| 2002 Gelabert Gallery New York |
| 2001 Galloway Gallery Brisbane |
| 1997 Munich Trade Show |
| 1996 Lasson Galleries Las Vegas |
| 1994 Visions Gallery Santa Rosa USA |
| 1992 Visions Gallery Santa Rosa USA |
| 1990 Galloway Gallery Brisbane |
| 1989 Nino Tucci Gallery Gold Coast |
| 1988 Galloway Gallery Brisbane |
| 1987 Visions Gallery Gold coast |
| 1986 Gold Coast Art gallery |
| 1985 Proud’s Gallery Sydney |
| 1985 Blue Whale Convention Centre Los Angeles |
| 1984 Elizabeth House Gallery Sydney |
PUBLISHED BOOKS
1990 The Atlas of Parrots
2009 The Journey
PUBLICATIONS
- International Artist
- Australian Artist
- New Zealand Artist Magazine
- Wildlife Artist magazine
- US ART
- South West Art
- West Coast Pastel Society
- Artists Palette magazine
- New Zealand Artist
- American Artist Magazine
- Home and garden magazine
- Bird keepers magazine
Amongst many other magazines and publications.
STUDIES, SKILLS AND INTERESTS
Fine art
Illustrations
Business management
Multimedia and film making
Online marketing
Blogging
Falconry
Taxidermy
Photography
Carpentry
Martial Arts
Dive Master
Skipper
Boating and fishing
Pilots license
Paramedic / Ambulance
ONLINE PROFILES
https://www.facebook.com/GraemeStevensonArtist/
https://www.facebook.com/graeme.stevenson.94
http://www.linkedin.com/in/ColourInYourLife
https://bluethumb.com.au/colourinyourlife
https://www.parkwestgallery.com/artist/graeme-stevenson/
About Colour In Your Life
Vision: To build a library of the minds of artists, preserving a digital record of creative spirit, culture, and techniques for future generations.
Put Some Colour In Your Life is a 24-minute story based art documentary that features artists in their studios around the world. The TV show is filmed in the artist’s studio and distributed worldwide to hundreds of millions of viewers. Founded in Australia in 2011, Colour In Your Life has now filmed hundreds of artists with three film teams and can be viewed in over 7 countries including Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and the UK.
CIYL is currently being broadcast to millions of people on TV stations and online networks throughout the world. The TV show airs on TV Stations in over 15 countries, including the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. Colour In Your Life has tens of millions of views on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
Read more about Colour In Your Life here