Debra Duffy: The Intrigue of Patterns in Landscapes

Art Lovers | 23 February 2024

Written by Anna Itkonen

Debra Duffy grew up on a farm surrounded by atmospheric Australian landscapes, rolling hills and vast open spaces. Today, this is what she paints in her abstract, intricate style at the foothills of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

“My paintings are very intricate with lots of details. I am fascinated with patterns and combining them. I use small patterns to create a larger image, to create a painting that is not just a painting but something more. I put another layer on things to add more interest, and I love to cut [the scene] up and put it back differently. For me, it is a different way of seeing an image.”

Debra Duffy

Her fascination and intrigue with patterns and details started in her childhood and weaved into her art. While she had always been painting and drawing, an art class in high school opened a new, dream-like world of creativity for her. “To me, it was mind-blowing. It was the freedom of getting my hands to do what was going on in my head. It was absolute creativity, and that is how it has been with art for me ever since.”

A Brighter Day | 50 x 50cm, Acrylic & marker on canvas

Debra’s art has always been quite linear. Since she first discovered abstract art and artists, art has been about reinventing normality, painting what she sees but translating it into a different language. “[For me], it is a secret language I have that I am sharing with everyone else.”

Blue Rivers | 50.8 x 50.8cm, Acrylic & markers on canvas

Debra paints primarily with acrylics. “I spent close to ten years working purely with watercolours. That gave me the foundation of brushwork, movement and flow in my art,” she said. “Lately, I have used interactive acrylic paint instead. When sprayed with water, it loosens up and has a similar texture and look like watercolours. I also use paint markers because I love how precise they can be to create effects with texture and patterns.”

Forever love | 50 x 50cm, Acrylic & markers on canvas

“I want to experiment more with structured acrylics for heavier base and body. I wish to create more intensity and pull out bolder colours. I find that the intensity you can create with structured acrylics is a little bit richer, but in a sense of heavier body, not changing to a different medium.”

Melody | 28.2 x 28.2cm, Acrylic & marker on canvas

Many of Debra’s paintings start as visions in her sleep. It might be just a quick flash of an artwork, but it is always an original artwork and idea. This offers a starting point and inspiration for a new painting.

“I start by roughly drawing on the canvas and outlining what I am thinking. I sort out my colours, go through them and think of how I want the painting to feel. When I work, it is like a double layer because I do my solid painting, knowing that afterwards, I will attack it with my patterns. I must be very mindful of how a pattern, a colour or a shape will affect or go together with other elements later. How I choose a colour now will affect a pattern I wish to introduce later. I want the pattern to bounce off, so the colour must be the right tone.”

“I think for me, line work is part of most of the story. The direction and flow are important, and I don’t have a lot of solid areas of space that haven’t been touched. Something always connects a shape or pattern with another one.”

Countryside maze | 80 x 60cm, Acrylic & marker on canvas

Saying this, Debra candidly talks about the surprises that come along in her creative process. Despite all the forward planning, sometimes the way different elements interact together takes life of their own and surprises her. These little, delightful surprises play a big role and are often deliberately repeated later. Ultimately, all the elements, deliberate or surprising, create a balanced and connected canvas with a sense of “all-overness” without any dead spaces.