For her latest body of work, Sylvia Ditchburn balances her ongoing reverence for the natural environment with a focus on its vulnerability. In Plain Sight highlights different perspectives from Australian settings, both within North Queensland and beyond, from Ditchburn’s travels. As a mostly en plein air painter, she is passionate about representing the sublime beauty and diversity of the lands she traverses, and articulating how nature’s endurance can dwarf human existence and our daily concerns. Ditchburn simultaneously seeks to raise awareness about humankind’s impact on the environment, and the climate crisis which is curtailing its endurance. She notes that recent blows – from the natural disasters of floods and fires to the loss of wildlife and habitats – have all impacted the landscape, making its fragility increasingly visible.

Dr Sylvia Ditchburn is predominantly an en plein air painter known for her bold and colourful landscape works and her passion for the environment. Since moving to North Queensland from the Darling Downs in the 1960s, she has been inspired by the dramatic tropical environment and its ambience, vibrant colours and abundance. Ditchburn has also travelled Australia widely in search of subjects and natural environments for her works.
The artist is formally trained with four degrees: a Diploma of Fine Arts, Graduate Diploma of Museum Curatorship (Distinction), Masters of Creative Arts (First Class) and a PhD at James Cook University. Ditchburn has been a judge for many notable art competitions and a tutor of en plein air workshops. She has completed residencies including at Arthur Boyd’s famous property at Bundanon, Sails on the Desert in Uluru and Redgate Gallery in Beijing. The artist has held more than 60 solo exhibitions in Australia, Russia and China and group exhibitions in Berlin, Miami, London, Paris, New York, and Budapest. Her work is held in public and private collections nationally and internationally. From 1997-1998 Ditchburn was appointed to the Qld Cultural Advisory Council to the Arts Office Minister, and she ran her own private gallery for over 11 years.