Gaye Chapman

Gaye Chapman

New South Wales

Speaker type

  • Author
  • Illustrator / Designer
  • Storyteller / Performer
  • Motivational
  • Interstate

Gaye Chapman is a multi-award-winning contemporary artist/painter and  author/illustrator of picture books, living and working on Gadigal Land Sydney. Gaye holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Contemporary Art|Painting, has exhibited nationally and internationally, and been awarded many prestigious residencies, awards and art prizes for both fine art and narrative illustration, including the: Archibald Prize Salon des Refusés and multiple-finalist in the Sulman; Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize; Kedumba Drawing Award; Glover and Portia Geach prizes. She is currently exhibiting in the invitational curated major exhibition 'Imagine: the Wonder of Picture Books', The Galleries, State Library of NewSouth Wales.

Gaye's work with progressive writers, along with her own writing, has established her as an innovator of contemporary picture books. Her artwork for children, described as 'dark chocolate', and 'Goth meets Laura Ashley', has taken her to 'off-the-page' installations, exhibitions, theatre, international recognition and global publication of her books. She has more than 15 picture books (3 collaborative) to her name and thousands of her illustrations have been published in non-fiction books and literary magazines. Her picture books have been translated into 5 languages, published in Iran, China, Turkey, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the USA, distributed worldwide and multiple-exhibited at the Bologna and Frankfurt book fairs.

A Fellow of the May Gibbs Children's Literature Trust, her narrative illustration awards include the: Queensland Premier's Literary Award; UNESCO White Ravens Selection; 5 CBCA Notable Book Prizes; Kirkus Star Award; CBCA Honour Book Prize and a Literature Board of the Australia Council New Work Grant. Her picture book work has been shortlisted for the: Queensland Premier's Literary Award; CBCA Crichton Award for Illustration; Aurealis Award for Speculative Fiction; CBCA Book of the Year Prize (collaborative) and the Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature (collaborative). Her book Precious Little was adapted for ballet by the Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma, Washington USA in 2014.

She has illustrated some outstanding picture books, including most recently, Leaf Stone Beetle with Australian Children's Laureate Ursula Dubosarsky, and the award winning books Little Blue (author-illustrator); Precious Little, In The Evening; Kaito's Cloth, Heart of the Tiger, Breakfast with Buddha and Incredibilia. Gaye's artwork for children has been acquired into the permanent collections of the State Library of New South Wales Mitchell Library Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria's Dromkeen Collection and the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Collecttion.

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Testimonials

  • “Very engaging and animating. Gaye’s passion is wonderful – a terrific raconteur. Highly interactive, engaging and effective. Brilliant. Well prepared – an experience!”

    Make Stuff Happen - 2015

    Make Stuff Happen - 2015
    Gaye Chapman
  • "Gaye Chapman brings a different dimension to the illustrator session. Her multi-sensory games give the children a chance to fully participate in activities leading them to draw without constraints. Children of all ages enjoy her approach, particularly being so hands-on and using the senses of sight, sound, touch and taste to inspire them to draw. Her sessions with senior art students were highly appreciated with the students responding to her creative methods. They particularly enjoyed being able to discuss ideas with a professional artist and illustrator."

    Kinross Wolaroi School. Orange NSW - 2015

    Kinross Wolaroi School. Orange NSW - 2015
    Gaye Chapman
  • “Really gave us an insight into her passion. Very commanding presence instantly captivating the audience.”

    National Judicial College of Australia - 2015

    National Judicial College of Australia - 2015
    Gaye Chapman
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Gaye Chapman