Miranda Free - Realism and Exploration

From an early age, Miranda Free was rarely without art materials in hand. As a child she immersed herself in making and craft, experimenting with processes such as copper enamelling. Art remained her favourite subject throughout school, and she fully intended to attend art school after completing her NSW Higher School Certificate. However, a series of difficult life experiences led her to take a different path, and she embarked on a career in science—as a researcher, teacher, and science communicator.

Although art took a back seat professionally, her creative instincts never disappeared. Designing publications and creating visual displays became an important outlet within her communications roles, quietly sustaining her artistic sensibilities. At the age of 40, following the birth of her third son, Miranda returned decisively to her first ambition. She trained at an Atelier-style school and began building what has now become a professional art practice spanning more than 25 years.

A Commitment to Realism and Exploration

Miranda is drawn to realism, and her work is immediately recognisable for its clarity of subject and careful observation. She finds it difficult—and unnecessary—to confine herself to a single genre, working across still life, landscape, figurative, and portrait painting. Oils are her primary medium, though her curiosity frequently leads her to explore others. Her science background plays a valuable role in this experimentation, particularly when investigating traditional and historical techniques.

Working from life is central to her practice. Miranda regularly paints landscapes en plein air, using these studies as the foundation for larger studio works. Still life also plays a major role, especially compositions incorporating richly patterned fabrics and surfaces. For portraits and figurative works, she prefers to begin by drawing the subject from life before using photographic references to complete the painting.

Themes, Time, and the Female Narrative

Alongside observational painting, Miranda explores broader conceptual themes. One recurring interest is the temporality of landscape—how environments are constantly changing, yet so often represented as a single, fixed moment. Through immersive bodies of work, she seeks to convey a deeper sense of place and time.

More recently, her focus has turned toward women and art history. Inspired by ongoing efforts to redress the historical erasure of women artists, Miranda is creating works influenced by the practices of women artists of the past, women significant to the arts, and mythological or legendary female figures connected to creativity. This theme forms the basis of a joint exhibition with Cassi-Jo Davis at

HEART, 47 Wallcliffe Road, Margaret River,

Women & Art: Myths, Legends and Goddesses,

From: 18 March - 27 April 2026

Exhibition Launch - 19 March. 6 - 8 pm

Process and Practice

Miranda approaches her work methodically, whether developing a cohesive body of work or painting in the studio. Her process typically follows a sequence of ideation, research, observation, experimentation, implementation, and exhibition.

In the studio, she often begins by toning a canvas or panel rather than working on white gesso. Drawings may be transferred using a grid or similar method, or she may sketch directly with paint. Many works begin with thin, transparent layers of a single colour—an open grisaille—to establish values. This is followed by closed grisaille, where opaque layers and white are added to create a detailed tonal foundation. Coloured glazes are then applied to build the final image.

At other times, Miranda works alla prima, painting directly with a full range of opaque and transparent colours. This approach offers a freshness and spontaneity that contrasts with the more layered, indirect techniques.

Discipline, Growth, and Lifelong Learning

Miranda views her practice much like any other profession—you show up, do the work, and stay consistent. Regular studio habits support both technical growth and sustained creative output.

Her artistic development has been shaped by many formative experiences. Attending an Atelier school provided a strong technical foundation and fostered independence. A particularly influential period involved nearly nine months spent circumnavigating Australia, during which Miranda completed a drawing or painting at every stop while her husband cycled 100 kilometres a day. Working en plein air across diverse environments and media sharpened her skills and confidence. She has since benefited from more than a decade of full-time studio practice, regular exhibitions, and artist residencies in Australia and overseas.

Mater Memento Mori

One deeply personal work, Mater Memento Mori, reflects Miranda’s ongoing connection to her mother, who died during her early adulthood. Objects belonging to her mother frequently appear in her still life paintings as a way of holding memory close. This particular work was created as a memorial, drawing on the memento mori tradition that reminds us of mortality.

Proteas placed in one of her mother’s vases symbolise strength, courage, and resilience—qualities Miranda hopes were passed down to her. A wedding photograph and gloves reference family connection, while a seed pod represents the cycle of life. Miranda acknowledges the influence of Margaret Olley’s still life works and notes the shared name between Olley and her mother, Margaret June Minette Free.

Beyond Painting

Miranda’s creative life extends beyond painting. Techniques used by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh of the Glasgow Four—such as traditional gesso, pastiglia, egg tempera, and gilding—have also informed her work. These techniques feature in her exhibitions in Margaret River.

There is no such thing as an average day in Miranda’s studio. She may move between multiple paintings, work on stained glass, or experiment with eco-dyeing. The variety ensures there is never boredom—only discovery.

Why She Continues

For Miranda, being an artist is both grounding and sustaining. It supports her mental health, brings joy, and even seems to dissolve physical aches while she works. While social media feels more like a necessity than a pleasure, the reward lies in the work itself—and in sharing it.

Six years into opening her studio to visitors, Miranda still finds it remarkable that a long-held dream has become reality. She values reconnecting with returning visitors, meeting new audiences, and hopes that people leave with a sense of pleasure and appreciation for the beauty at the heart of her work.

Miranda is opening her studio during the Blackwood River Arts Trail at the Eyrie Studio Gallery, 42 Carey Street, Nannup from 28th March - 6 April 2026 Open from 10 - 4 each day.