Kirsten Sivyer

Kirsten Sivyer (B.A. Visual Arts, Painting) is an award-winning visual artist based in Albany, Western Australia. Sivyer specialises in figurative oil painting and uses traditional multi-layered glazing techniques. Her painterly subjects reflect her passion for lighting, allegory and mood.

Recent artistic achievements include winning the 2017 Bluethumb Art Prize, 2015 City of Stirling Print Award, the 2013 Albany Art Prize People’s Choice Award, and placing as a national finalist in 2018 Collie Art Prize, 2013 Black Swan Prize for Heritage and the 2012 Black Swan Prize for Portraiture. Sivyer’s artwork is represented in various private and public collections.

Enquiries regarding portrait or landscape commissions are welcome.

Inspiration comes in many forms but I am primarily a visual person. I am interested in unusual places and uncommon experiences that bring my mind and senses into focus. It is easy for me to daydream and become visually complacent to the world around me when things become overly-familiar. I enjoy change, a bit of visual drama or even risk in my searches for a subject or idea that I want to engage with and share through my work.
I find objects or scenes say the most and work best visually when there is something a little ‘off’. For example, last week I was considering a once beautiful rose in a vase that was past its peak and starting to droop and lose petals. I have no artistic interest in the romantic “rose in full bloom”. I prefer subjects that encompass a more shadowy spectrum of the human condition.