Ann Owen Art

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Painting birds, botanicals & wildlife · NT
Darwin studio · originals & commissions
🎨 Top End colour on every page
👇 Explore my works below
Shop: www.annowen.com.au

12/10/2026

Something a little different from me this week. I stepped away from the birds and painted a cat! 🐾

This tortoiseshell beauty has her back to the world and her eyes closed, as if she's decided nothing out there is worth her attention right now. Anyone who's lived with a tortie knows they come with opinions, so it was lovely to catch one in a rare peaceful moment. I loved building up the ginger and charcoal patches and letting the soft blue-greys run where they wanted.

She's an original watercolour, 28 x 38 cm, on heavy cotton archival paper, and she'd be perfect for that cosy little corner that needs just the right touch.

Message me if she's the one, or shop at annowen.com.au

01/10/2026

Every character has personality, and it's all in the eye.

Hi, I'm Ann I paint the wildlife, birds and wildflowers of Australia, mostly the characters I share the Northern Territory with. A tawny frogmouth pretending to be a broken branch. A galah mid-screech, crest up. A straw-necked ibis with wings like a spilled jewellery box.

I work in bold watercolour on heavy cotton paper, and every painting starts with the eye. If the eye isn't right, nothing else matters. Everything else is allowed to stay a little wild.

I photograph the outdoors constantly for colour and detail. Plenty of my subjects are from my own backyard… and in the Top End, "my backyard" stretches all the way to Kakadu.

I paint for the joy of it. If one of my paintings makes you stop, smile or remember a place, it has done its job.

Swipe to meet a few of the characters → Original paintings available, link in bio.

21/09/2026

Introducing the drama queen of the aviary.
Galahs don't just have crests, they have opinions — and this one made absolutely sure I knew it, fanning that pink and grey crest out like she owned the branch and everyone else was just visiting.
I finished her off with a splash of magenta and opera pink bleeding down the page, because honestly, she felt like she'd had a bit too much fun with the paint herself.
She joins the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo already in this growing collection — cockatoos are some of my most popular subjects, and once you spend time watching them you understand why. Every one of them is a character.
If you've been thinking about starting a collection of your own, three's a great place to begin.
Original watercolour, 28×38cm. Unframed.
Message me or shop via the link below if she's caught your eye. :)

12/09/2026

There's a moment with a Red-tailed Black Cockatoo when you realise "black" doesn't even come close — it's charcoal, violet, storm-grey, with gold scattered through the feathers that only shows itself when the light hits just so.

This one's fully fluffed up and giving me a proper side-eye, and that amber eye says more than most conversations I have before coffee.

We're lucky enough to see these birds regularly across the Top End and Northern Australia, and they never fail to stop me in my tracks.

Original watercolour, 28 x 38cm on 640gsm cotton archival paper. $550. Message me to reserve, or check out my collection in the link.

26/08/2026

Meet the newest character on the easel — and yes, I know he's not exactly Top End wildlife, but hear me out.

I came across a photo of this cocky little show rooster and something about him just said "different." There's a real personality in farm birds, isn't there — even if you didn't grow up around them, there's something instantly familiar about a rooster who clearly thinks he owns the yard.
Once I started thinking about how to get the light catching that comb just right, I couldn't stop until he was finished. That eye is doing all the talking — I don't think much gets past him.

Original watercolour, 28×38cm, painted on 640gsm cotton archival paper.
Message me if you'd like to bring him home.

25/08/2026

Meet Dorrie.
If you grew up watching Number 96, that name just landed with a thud of recognition, didn't it? Dorrie Evans — the block's resident busy-body, always peeping out from behind the curtains, keeping half an eye on everyone else's business.
The moment I finished painting this emu's face, there was genuinely no other name that would do. That tilted head, that "I see you" look — she's got exactly the same energy.
I have a real soft spot for emus. Everyone thinks of them as the dowdy ones — all brown and black next to the flashier birds — but I don't see it that way at all. Give one of these lanky, scruffy Territory characters some proper vivid colour and she holds her own against anything with fancy plumage.
Dorrie's got more personality in that one sideways glance than most of the "beautiful" birds I paint.
Original watercolour, 28×38cm, painted on 640gsm archival cotton paper. $550. She's up on the website now and ready to find her new home.

23/08/2026

The exhibition is over and I am still smiling.

Top End Characters at Darwin Visual Arts has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my artistic life — not just for the paintings sold, but for the people. Artists, art lovers, old friends and new ones. The conversations in that gallery over the past three weeks were extraordinary.

A number of paintings have found wonderful new homes — some staying right here in Darwin, while others are heading interstate. Thank you to every collector who chose to bring one of these characters into their lives. It means more than you know.

A very special thank you to my brilliant co-exhibitors — Yuka, Brendan, Michael, Joseph, Maggie and Carly — you made this shared exhibition something truly special. To everyone who visited, messaged, shared and cheered from the sidelines — I felt every single one of you.

And yes — next year's exhibition is already on the horizon. Watch this space. 🎨

Darwin Visual Arts · Ann Owen Art

16/08/2026

One week left to meet the characters.

Top End Characters is part of the Darwin Festival and on at Darwin Visual Arts until 22 August. If you've been meaning to come in — this is the week to do it.
I'll be in the gallery this Saturday 10am–2pm and would love to see you there.
Free entry · Original watercolours · 14 Top End characters waiting to meet you.

📍 Darwin Visual Arts · 1/8 McMinn St · Harbour View Plaza · Darwin City
🕐 Wed 12–5pm · Thurs & Fri 10am–5pm · Sat 10am–2pm

31/07/2026

Tonight is the night. 🎉

Top End Characters opens at Darwin Visual Arts in just a few hours — and I am standing in this gallery absolutely overwhelmed by how it all looks.

I need to say a very public thank you to my two bossy, wonderfully OCD installation helpers — Trev and my dear friend Maree — who showed up, measured everything twice (and then measured it again), argued with me about centimetres, and made sure every single character was perfectly placed on the wall.
I could not have done this without them.

Also making a very important cameo — my junior art critic, whose verdict on Putting on the Ritz was acknowledged. High praise indeed.

Tonight — Friday 31 July, 6–8pm
Darwin Visual Arts · 1/8 McMinn St, Harbour View Plaza, Darwin City
Free entry — come and meet the full cast! 🌿

Address

Darwin City, NT

Website

Https://www.annowen.com.au/

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