Growing up in war-torn El Salvador, I taught myself art fundamentals, mainly from books. After arriving in Melbourne, Australia, as a political refugee in 1984, my comic books got me a job at Mc Cann Erickson Advertising. As a freelance illustrator and storyboard artist since 1989, I have continued to learn regularly — from work, books, and in-person and online workshops.
Teaching is a great way to give back and to learn. The Victorian College of the Arts Film School commissioned me to teach and develop an audio-visual module on the Fundamentals of Storyboarding. I also mentor young Indigenous filmmakers for the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
For the last decade, I have lived in Malta on and off for six months of the year. I have developed a body of work around the sketching of strangers at our local bus stop. After completing sketchbook drawings from life, I have developed some of them into acrylic paintings.
As a resident of Far North Queensland since 2010, I am struck by the conflict between the peaceful rural life around me and the inevitable violence that human activity perpetrates against nature. The tropics remind me of the landscapes of my childhood, and I yearn to return to El Salvador as a visitor soon. Hopefully, this will spark a body of work that integrates my past and present selves.
My work includes figurative portraits and landscapes using various media, including oils, watercolours, inks and acrylic.
Instagram: @storyboarderau
Facebook: facebook.com/storyboarderAu
Cara: @storyboarderau
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
-The Percivals Portrait Award, Finalist Perc Tucker Gallery, Townsville, QLD 2024
-The Doyles Art Awards, Finalist Firth Park Community Centre, Mudgeeraba, QLD 2024
-Pride Exhibition, Tanks Arts, Cairns, QLD 2024
-Plein Air Downunder Exhibition Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, WA 2024
-Nature: The Wonder and the Tragedy, Umbrella Studios, Townsville, QLD 2021
-‘Artificial’ Umbrella Studios Member Exhibition Townsville, QLD 2024
-Mission Arts 10th Anniversary Art Awards, Highly Commended Mission Beach Community Arts Centre, QLD 2021
-Comix Creatrix Australia, Liverpool Library, NSW 2016
-Hispanic-American Artists: Cultural Legacy Access Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC 1996
-The Graphic Art of Contemporary Comics The Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, ACT 1991
EDUCATION AND WORKSHOPS
Mastering the Painted Portrait with Tony Robinson. Mandurah, WA, 2024
Leon Holmes Oil Painting Masterclass en Plein Air. Mandurah, WA, 2024
CIAF Masterclass – Intermediate Printmaking with Robert Tommy Pau. Cairns QLD 2024
Modern Impressionism in Action with Colley Whisson. Brisbane, QLD, 2023
Portrait Oil Painting Masterclass with Andrew Bonneau. Townsville, QLD, 2022
Big Scale Anatomy – Life-Size Figure Drawing Masterclass with Stefan Priehyba Camilleri. Malta 2019
Ideation Lab with Sterling Hundley, Online, 2016. The four-week course focuses specifically on idea development within commercial art industries.
Imaginism Studios In-House Workshop with Thierry Lafontaine. Ste Julienne, Canada 2015. For 30 days, I lived with three other handpicked artists at the Imaginism House in Montreal, Canada. The instructor taught us the essential art skills, daily practices, and philosophies that lead to a successful career as a concept artist in today’s industry.
Schoolism ‘Painting with Light and Colour’ with Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo, Online, 2014
Pixar Artists’ Masterclass, Deakin Uni, Melbourne, VIC 2013. Story & Animation Masterclass with Pixar Veterans Andrew Gordon and Matthew Luhn.
CAE Photography and Darkroom course, Swinburne University, VIC 1987
Universidad Dr Matias Delgado, San Salvador, Graphic Design 1984. Principles of Design, Illustration techniques, Life Drawing, Archaeology, History of Art, Drafting
Deutsche Schule San Salvador, 1976-1982. Humanities, Latin American Literature, Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy