her original work is on display in the Magpie Springs gallery
Prints by Avril Thomas are now available on canvas, mugs, shirts, phone covers and much more.
Avril Thomas, born in Malaysia, has enjoyed a lifetime of drawing and until 1996 it was essentially was a private pursuit. Whilst living in Queensland Avril’s talent was recognised and was asked to teach.
On returning to South Australia she has participated in many joint and solo exhibitions.
Her main focus is portraiture in charcoal, graphite, pastel and oil, all with a tonal realist style. Avril’s works can be found in Hong Kong, U.S.A. as well as round Australia in corporate and private collections.
Avril Thomas of a Member of..
Royal South Australian Soc of Arts
Portrait Artists Australia
Portrait Society of America
Avril Thomas as Judge..
Parkside Primary School 2008
Campbelltown Rotary 2008
Campbelltown Rotary 2009
Campbelltown Rotary 2010
Solar Art Prize 2012
Blackwood Rotary 2013
Avril commission work is primarily from photographs, this avoids the inconvenience and expense associated with long posed sittings. She prefers to take her own photographs since her needs for composition and lighting are rarely met through commercial studio photography or personal photography.
Her work usually incorporates elements which tells of the subject, including background and setting
For posthumous portraits, Avril will work with you to select an appropriate photo reference. A portrait is a collaboration between artist and patron.
Clothing choice is up to the model however Avril does ask that unless the lighting is exceptional not to wear dark clothing as descriptive folds, curves and shapes are usually lost. During the first sitting a colour check is done with pastels.
At the first sitting, size and medium will be discussed and therefore the price. Paintings or drawings are priced without the frame. The price is based on the following factors, the number of people or pets in the painting; the size of the actual painting itself; the intricacy of clothing, jewellery and props and the complexity of the background setting.
Oil on canvas
(examples of approximate pricing to be expected)
61cm x 76cm – $5,000 to
1200cm x 1800cm – $30,000 for one subject
Pastel – $1,500 to $6,000
Charcoal/graphite – $ 1,000 to $5,000
10% of the fee is expected as a deposit or booking fee.
These ranges may appear quite large, but to successfully communicate the personality of the sitter, pieces of relevance to the life of the sitter are encouraged to be included in the image. Discussing these things gives Avril a chance to get a feel for the sitter and therefore discover how the composition will be.
Framing, shipping and travel expenses for the artist are the responsibility of the client.
You can expect your portrait to be ready two to three months after the sitting if oil, and sooner if it is a drawing.
Exhibitions participated in were
At the Archibald 2005 NSW Art Gallery, Portrait of Alexander Downer 4’6″ x 6′ “Minister from Downunder” Oil on Canvas by Avril Thomas
At Government house painting portrait of Governor of SA Marjorie Jackson Nelson commissioned by National Portrait Gallery Canberra
Premier Mike Rann at the unveiling of his portrait “Big Boys Toys” oil on canvas Painted by Avril Thomas (an entry to the Archibald) and retrospective show held at artists studio /home
Exhibition Theatre Works at Flinders Hospital Drawings and paintings by Avril Thomas
The opening in Bonython Hall at University of Adelaide during the celebrations of 125th Anniversary of the School of Medicine
Portrait of Bill Griggs – “Retrieval” Oil on Canvas painted by Avril Thomas
The unveiling of Gerry Ryan’s portrait, Oil on canvas painted by Avril Thomas Commissioned by Jayco Australia and NZ dealerships – at Crown Melbourne
Commissioned by Australia and NZ dealers Jayco 2015
Avril Thomas with her painting “The Artist” Oil on Canvas during the Australian National Women Painting Women exhibition held at Burrinja Victoria
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Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson ac cvo mbe (b. 1931), former sprinter, has been Governor of South Australia since November 2001. The ‘Lithgow Flash’ won two Olympic gold medals at Helsinki in 1952, becoming the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal for track and field and the first Australian to win an Olympic gold medal on the running track since 1896
Portrait of Karen Reynolds. Australian Engineer of the year 2010 and South Australian Scientist of the year exhibited at Federal Parliament House Canberra with Portrait Artists Australia exhibition “Celebrating innovators”
Proud to be included in “The Artists Book” a 180 page book released in Sydney April with leading artists from round Australia. A Portrait Artists Australia publication. A really beautiful celebration of portraiture!!! Am one of only 2 artists from South Australia
copy of “The Remedy” used by Basil Hetzel during Uni SA exhibition to commemorate his lifes work.
In 2009 Avril Thomas worked as artist-in-residence in Operating Theatres, Flinders Medical Centre. The aim of the project was to capture portraits of a variety of staff members and to provide a rare glimpse inside an operating theatre through the eyes of an artist. The artwork profiles staff at work, highlighting the technical skill, concentration and precision involved in a surgical operation. The residency culminated in an exhibition in the FMC Promenade Gallery A.
Avril’s work was featured both in the Independent weekly August 6 – 12
8 Portraits Monash – Deans of Science collection
Commissioned by Monash University to paint Les Williams – Posthumous piece
Now a member of Portrait Artists of America
Working on private commissioned pieces
A portrait of esteemed medical researcher and graduate Dr Basil Hetzel AC, painted to commemorate the University of Adelaide’s 125th anniversary of its medical program, has been officially unveiled in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Dr Hetzel was one of 59 of the State’s best known medical personnel who were captured on canvas this year by two local artists and displayed in Bonython Hall as part of the Medicine 125 celebrations.
His portrait, by artist Avril Thomas, now hangs in the atrium of the Basil Hetzel Institute for Medical Research at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) as testament to his lifelong work to combat iodine deficiencies worldwide.
Portrait of Basil Hetzel “The Remedy” was unveiled at The Basil Hetzel Institute for
Translational Health Research. Delighted to have this image featured several times throughout the 2010
Research Report
The cream of South Australia’s medical profession has been brought to life by two local artists in a specially commissioned art show celebrating the 125th anniversary of the University of Adelaide’s Medical School.
Fifty-nine portraits of the State’s best known medical personnel will be on display in Bonython Hall for four days from 30 August, thanks to the work of Avril Thomas and Meg Brassil.
The two artists have spent the past 12 months working around the clock, painting high-profile South Australians who have made a major contribution to medicine and health in this State.
A Day in the Life of Medicine includes:
The remaining 55 portraits cover subjects from a wide range of specialties and eras, including the co-founder of the University of Adelaide’s Medical Program in 1885, Sir Joseph Verco, who was recognised as the leading physician in Adelaide in the late 1800s.
The cream of South Australia’s medical profession has been brought to life by two local artists in a specially commissioned art show celebrating the 125th anniversary of the University of Adelaide’s Medical School.
Fifty-nine portraits of the State’s best known medical personnel will be on display in Bonython Hall for four days from 30 August, thanks to the work of Avril Thomas and Meg Brassil.
Traveling south to the Flinders Medical Centre, Bedford Park, where Flinders University also maintains a presence in the Promenade Gallery of this large, regional hospital’s long walkway, works from Avril Thomas’s exhibition Theatre Works: An Artist’s View Inside Operating Theatres were displayed under the SALA Festival’s imprimatur..
2010 Commissioned by Monash University, Victoria to paint collection, Deans of Science Prof Jock Marshal, Prof John Swan, Bill Muntz, Prof Ian Rae, Prof James Warren, Prof Ron Davies , Prof Ross Norris, Prof Kevin Westfold.
on the Theatre Works exhibition held at Flinders Medical Centre
WHEN Premier Mike Rann comes out to play, we hope the Archibald judges don’t run away!
Eden Hills artist Avril Thomas captured South Australia’s head honcho in a painting she’s called Big Boys Toys as her latest entry in the acclaimed portrait competition, the Archibald Prize.
She says the Premier was a great model. “He was very amenable, he’s really been a good sport about it and I think he likes it too,” Avril says.
And the title was inspired by the knick-knacks in Mike’s city office.
“He has little replicas of boats, planes, because his mother used to build Spitfires (when the Rann family lived in Kent during the WWII “blitz”) and (items) of interests in overseas trade, so there’s a reference to that as well,” she says.
“There’s a little Hindu sculpture given to him, and the eyeball from the last (Adelaide) Festival, binoculars from his father . . . and because environmental issues are so hot I added a gum tree as well.”
Subjects for the Archibald must be nationally or internationally known in the arts, politics or science, and in the past Avril painted former Liberal foreign minister Alexander Downer.
But she doesn’t know who’s next on her wishlist.
“I just play it by ear – it’s tricky because if you don’t know people of this calibre, if they haven’t seen your work it’s like cold calling,” Avril says with a laugh.
“Jana Wendt’s been done about seven times (by other artists).”
The 2005 Archibald Prize finalists reveal a mixed bag of talent, writes Peter Hill.
How popular is the Archibald Prize? According to London’s The Art Newspaper (March 2005), Australia’s best-loved portrait prize came ninth in a listing of contemporary art exhibitions around the globe for 2004.
Preparatory study for Her Excellency Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC CVO MBE
Best number for contact = Magpie Springs 08 85567351
