Painting in Green

This geometric abstract painting is built on textured perspex—the patterned plastic panels typically used to cover fluorescent ceiling lights. The built-in diamond grid of the plastic serves as the structural foundation for the entire composition.

The piece is divided down the center by a three-dimensional, painted orange wooden dowel. On the left side, hand-painted purple and textured olive green diamonds sit over a vibrant, ultra-matte lime green background painted with Flashe acrylic vinyl. On the right side, a subtle, smooth gradient shift in green runs across the raw, unpatterned mesh texture of the perspex.

Mounting and Hanging:
The perspex is mounted onto a sturdy masonite sheet, which is backed by an inset wooden frame. Because this backing frame is smaller than the outer edge of the artwork, the painting appears to float on the wall and casts a slight shadow behind it. It is designed to be displayed unframed and comes ready to hang with a pre-installed wire or D-rings.

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Fiona Little is a Canberra-based painter, photographer and designer whose multidisciplinary practice explores colour, geometry, repetition, space and the relationship between the handmade and the manufactured. Working across abstraction, photography, drawing and design, she is interested in the balance between precision and experimentation — creating works where careful construction meets intuitive discovery.

For nearly two decades, Fiona has investigated the possibilities of the grid within abstract painting. Her paintings are developed through a slow, layered process, with compositions evolving through the interaction of colour, texture and structure. While her works often begin with systems of geometry and repetition, the process remains intuitive, allowing subtle shifts, imperfections and material qualities to emerge through the act of making. The resulting works sit between order and spontaneity, reflecting an ongoing fascination with the tension between designed systems and the human hand.

Alongside painting, Fiona works with photography and design, extending her interest in abstraction, scale and visual structure. In her photographic series Blockwork, she transforms everyday children's building blocks through carefully constructed still-life arrangements, using light and perspective to create monumental abstract forms that examine perception, proportion and the relationship between the familiar and the unexpected.

Fiona graduated from the Australian National University School of Art in 2007 and has maintained an active studio career since. She has been a studio artist at M16 Artspace in Canberra since 2013, continuing to develop her painting, photography and design work. Her studies in Graphic Design and Photography and Digital Imaging at the Canberra Institute of Technology have further informed her approach to visual structure, composition and image-making.

Fiona has presented numerous solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions throughout Australia. Her work has been recognised through selections as a finalist in the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, the CLIP Award, the Sunstudios Emerging Photographers Award and the QPRC & Bendigo Bank Art Awards, where she received the 2025 Bendigo Pick Photographic Award. Her artworks are held in corporate and private collections.