Joseph Zbukvic

Born and educated in Croatia, he first set his sights on teaching, enrolling in 1967 at the University of Ivo Lole Ribara in Zagreb to study languages and literature. Political unrest altered that course: in 1970 his family emigrated to Australia, where he returned to his first love—art. He continued formal studies at Deakin University in Melbourne, graduating in 1974 with a Diploma of Art in Industrial Design, and it was there that he discovered watercolor, the medium that would define his career.

Recognition arrived early. In 1974 he won the Corio Council Art Award, the first of many honors that followed. By 1978 he had committed to painting full-time, eventually presenting more than fifty solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, London, San Antonio, and—more recently—Zhujiajiao and Shanghai. A respected teacher, he has produced five best-selling instructional DVDs and the book Atmosphere and Mood in Watercolour. Over four decades he has garnered more than 200 major awards, including the coveted Gold Medal and $20,000 prize for Best in Show at the Camberwell Rotary Art Exhibition (2001, 2003, 2004), Best Painting at the 2012 Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolour Biennial Exhibition, and, in 2019, PleinAir Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award.