Karin du Plessis - Art
I am a self-taught painter born in South Africa and based in Australia for nearly two decades. Based in Sydenham, Melbourne, I work from a home studio where my creative work explores the intersections of nature and my lived environment – bridging the interpersonal and environmental. My work shows relational interaction and contrast for a style that doesn't just document nature but interprets the feeling of the Australian light. I love blending vibrant colour palettes with a play of light, seeing how light and colour relate on canvas much like people do in life. My ideas are often influenced by impressionism and surrealism, and my art practice varies from a rhythmic study of landscapes and botanics, to the more surreal. I am a member of the Melbourne and Victorian Artists Collective (MAVA). Alongside my studio practice, I am a couples counsellor supporting personal relational health through empathy, care and building couples’ resilience.
Egg Flowers in Delft Vase
July 2024
Acrylic on Canvas, 27x 21cm
Karin du Plessis
Haybales at Plumpton
December 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
Garden Blooms in Turquoise
December 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm
Karin du Plessis
Gardens at Maze, Newlyn North
December 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm
Karin du Plessis
Werribee River at Melton South
December 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
An impressionistic take on the tranquil Werribee River flowing through a lush foreground on the edge of Melton South under a moody pink sky. It positions a serene natural landscape on the edge of urban development and encourages the viewer to see beauty in our backyard.
Road trip, Spring Hill near Daylesford
January 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm
Karin du Plessis
I love the feel of sunlight and shadows interplaying and dappling on the road as you wind through lush forests - this one by Spring Hill near Daylesford with vibrant gum trees bending their mighty trunks on a bright summer's day.
Fire, Sand and Scorched Earth
January 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 31 x 25cm
Karin du Plessis
Rotary Lookout, Tamborine, Queensland
January 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
Say ahhh...
August 2024
Acrylic on Board, 30 x 25cm
Karin du Plessis
My house, in the middle of...
April 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
Cheeky Bird
November 2025
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm
Karin du Plessis
**View Master!
February 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 50cm
Karin du Plessis
View Me, says the View Master! A pop art style painting of a red stereoscopic ViewMaster, a classic toy I loved in the 80's. I adored how it transported you to another 3D world with each press of the lever. To further enhance the retro feel, I've placed the ViewMaster centre stage in an aesthetic akin to comic book panels.
** In forthcoming exhibit 'Dream Weaver' (Oak Hill Gallery, Mornington, 2 - 29 May 2026; www.oakhillgallery.com)
The Nook, Sunbury
February 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 50cm
Karin du Plessis
**Climb into my "I"
February 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 30cm
Karin du Plessis
A surrealist invitation by the artist to journey into the "I", an inner perspective beyond the duality of black and white to a more nuanced view of existence.
**In forthcoming exhibit 'Common' (Melton Community Open Group Show) at Caroline Springs Gallery: May-August 2026
I really don't know clouds at all
February 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 30 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
**Three's a crowd
March 2026
Acrylic on Canvas
60 x 40cm
Karin du Plessis
If two is company, is three a party or a crowd? Playing with the dialectic and interrelationship in space and distance between objects and people - each with their own gravitas and gravitational pull.
** In forthcoming exhibit 'Dream Weaver' (Oak Hill Gallery, Mornington, 2 - 29 May 2026; www.oakhillgallery.com)
Top End Waterhole/Atlas Moth
April 2026
Acrylic on Canvas, 40 x 50cm
Karin du Plessis