Debra Byrnes

Debra Byrnes grew up in Newcastle and has lived in the Hunter region for most of her adult life. She is a painter who engages with other mediums including sculpture, drawing and digital art. Her practice is a response to environments of structural and ecological change and to the instability and ambiguity that underlies both natural and human worlds. The works are informed by places known, remembered, and imagined. 

Debra has a Bachelor of Arts and has studied Fine Arts/Visual Arts through Curtin University. She has an Advanced Diploma of Fine Art from Newcastle Art School (TAFE) where she won awards in both painting and sculpture.  Debra has shown in selected exhibitions in regional and local galleries including Counteractions at The Creator Incubator, Collect at The Lockup, and Surface Seeking at Lake Macquarie Art Gallery.  She has been a finalist and semi-finalist in several prizes including the Muswellbrook Art prize, Kooindah Sculpture prize and Newcastle Club Foundation Arts Prize.