“Meet me in the Middle”, 2023

In awe of our environment and all its beauty of promising landscapes, dreamy atmospheres and the melancholy contemplation of the sky, is all part of Debbie’s engagement with the romantic. Debbie’s vision is about leaving the high pressured, time poor quality of modern life, escaping into the whimsical landscape of rolling green hills and grand old trees and majestic skies. Placing the viewer beneath a vast and epic sky that correctly reminds us of where we fit in nature, small but surrounded by beauty on a grand scale. Return to the days of a carefree childhood, to lie on the grass and watch clouds float by, not a care in the world. To indulge in that feeling when you view the work, best describes Debbie’s motivation. Her work is a reflection of personal and individual experience from childhood to today. Spending time between her home on the Mornington Peninsula and her beloved family holiday shack in Peterborough (with a rich history going back 4 generations), has provided Debbie with a surplus of visual memories! To quote Simon Gregg, in his book ‘New Romantics’, “today Romanticism implies an aversion to digital technology. To embrace the natural world is to cleanse and purify the soul against the madness of the modern world. Artists who turn to nature today may be seeking such a spiritual respite.”

Debbie Mackenzie is an artist residing on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. After studying Graphic Design and then following a career in advertising, Debbie embarked upon a journey into the romantic. She quickly established herself as one of the most exciting emerging artists to watch and has gone on to be involved in sell-out solo shows and group exhibitions.

Debbie ‘s work is largely about reverie, a sense of place and a desire to be there. Inspiration comes from Debbie’s childhood, spent on the Mornington Peninsula and holidaying at their century-old family beach house at Peterborough on the Great Ocean Road. These land and seascapes provide a rich and endless source of motivation.

A John Leslie Art Prize Finalist in 2020 & 2018, Debbie has exhibited in numerous successful solo shows and group exhibitions and has work in private collections around Australia and internationally.