About

Artist Statement —

I paint portraits, landscapes, and still life in oils in a 19th-century classical realist style, sometimes in a romantic hue. Guided by natural light and the seasons, I often work outdoors en plein air, creating impressions of fleeting light effects and using the Tuscan landscape around Florence as a frequent subject. In my studio, I am a social portrait painter – engaging in conversation with my sitter to find not just their likeness in paint but their anima and character. When not painting people, I choose still life painting for its ability to provide a peaceful meditation on the inanimate object – arranging fruits, flowers and pots as if characters on a theatre stage. My work sits you quietly in a chair in a Tuscan garden to watch grass blow in the wind, contemplating a still life in moody studio lighting or across from a friendly face during a conversation.  

Bio —

Hannah Sutton (b. 1989, Australia) is a classical realist painter based in Florence, Italy. 

Hannah paints commissions and private work in her studio in Florence and en plein air around Tuscany. Her subjects include still life, portraits, figures, and landscapes, and are in private collections throughout Australia, the UK, the US and Europe. She has exhibited both in Australia and Italy.

Born and raised on a farm near St. Arnaud, Victoria, Australia, Hannah began actively participating in the art community from 13 years old, selling work at district art shows and taking part in life drawing classes. She graduated with a Bachelor of Communication Design at RMIT University, Melbourne in 2010, where she ran her own creative freelance business until moving to Florence in 2017 to study drawing and painting at The Florence Academy of Art, graduating in 2020. She is currently the Program Director of the 5-week Intensive Drawing, Painting, and Art History course at the Florence Academy of Art.

CV—

- EDUCATION -

2021 - Fourth Year Prize (Graduate in Residence Program) The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2017-2020 - Drawing & Painting Program, The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2007-2010 - Bachelor of Design (Communication Design) RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia (Graduated with Distinction)

2015 - Cert 3 in Micro Business Management, Box Hill Institute, Melbourne, Australia

- EXHIBITIONS -

2025 - Group Show In Stillness, The Lennox Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2025 - Summer Faculty Show, The Florence Academy of Art

2025 - Group Show Paper/Mirror/Paper, The Florence Academy of Art

2025 - Venice International Art Fair (21st Edition), Venice, Italy

2024 - Summer Faculty Show, The Florence Academy of Art

2023 - Solo Show ‘La Dolce Vita’ - Raillery Hub Gallery, St Arnaud, Australia (Sold Out)

2023 - Faculty Show, The Florence Academy of Art

2022 - ‘Oceania: 6 Artists of the Mondo Nuovissimo’, Group show, Gruppo Donatello - Florence, Italy

2022 - Summer Faculty Show, The Florence Academy of Art

2021 - ‘Letting Us In: Women of The FAA’ Online Group Show, Florence Academy of Art

2020 - ‘A Still Life’ Online Show

- AWARDS -

2022 - Finalist, 16th International ARC Salon (for painting ‘Pandemic Self-Portrait’)

2021 - MEAM Figurativas 2021 - Preselection (for painting ‘Man Out Of Time’)

2020 - ModPortrait 2020 - Selected artist in Painting

2020 - Fourth Year Prize (Graduate in Residence Program: Teaching role + studio residency) The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2020 - Rare Birds Scholarship Award : Australian Prime Minister and Cabinet- Office for Women scholarship for mentoring and education

2019 - Advanced Painting Program Double Study Scholarship, The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2019 - Best Exhibit - Charlton Art Exhibition, Victoria, Australia for ‘Canova’s Venus’

2018 - Intermediate Painting Program Study Scholarship, The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2018 - Best Exhibit - Charlton Art Exhibition, Victoria, Australia for ‘Hanging on in quiet desperation’

- TEACHING -

2024 - present Program Director of the 5-Week Intensive Course in Drawing, Painting & Art History - The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

2024 & 2025 Instructor & Organiser, 3-day Still Life Painting Workshop, AMAA Australia

2021 - 2024 Program Director, Summer Still Life Painting Workshop, The Florence Academy of Art

2021 - 2023 Principal Instructor, First Year Intensive Drawing Course, The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

2021 - 2023 - Principal Instructor, Six-week Intensive Course in Drawing, Painting and Art History - The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

2021 - Teaching Assistant, First Year Intensive Drawing Course, The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy

2021 - 2023 Instructor & Creator, The Artist Website Workshop (online course)

- LECTURES -

2026 - The Australian Impressionists, The Florence Academy of Art, Italy

- PUBLICATIONS -

2025 - Grounded Success by Kemi Nekvapil (Penguin Books)

2024 - Fine Art Connosseuir, March/April Edition

2021- Leonardo Art Guide - XI Edition

2020 - ModPortrait 2020 Special Catalog

- MASTERCLASSES -

2023 Plein Air Painting Course with Daniela Astone, Mercatale in Val di Pesa, Italy

2023 Plein Air painting workshop with Patrick Okrasinski

2021 ‘Painting Best Practices’ by Natural Pigments , Online course. Website

2020 The Florence Academy of Art, ‘Plein Air Painting’ with Tanvi Pathare, Florence, Italy

2019 The Florence Academy of Art, ‘Ecorché Sculpture’ with Mitchell Price & Marty Welsh, Florence, Italy

2019 The Florence Academy of Art, ‘Sculpture for Painters’ with Mitch Shea, Florence Italy

2019 ‘Painting the Figure Outdoors’, Workshop with Daniela Astone & Ben Fenske

2018 Plein Air Painting Weekend with Marc Dalessio, Florence, Italy

2018 Plein Air Painting Course with Daniela Astone, Mercatale in Val di Pesa, Italy