Laurel Foenander describes herself as a contemporary realist painter. She has been working as a professional artist for 25 years, using mainly oil paint, and is a recognised and widely-collected painter of birds.

“My mum and dad said as I could stand up I drew on the walls; so I guess that's an indication of how things were going to turn out,” says Ms Foenander.

“After I'd had my children I started doing a little bit of drawing and painting, and it just sort of took off from there. You sell a painting and you can buy the materials to do some more, and so it goes on and you start entering shows and you win a few and people buy your paintings - and it goes from there.”

Ms Foenander has won several art prizes, including the Norvill Landscape Prize 2012 and Best in Show, Art Gippsland 2013.

“That was a portrait that I painted to enter the Archibalds a couple of years ago. It wasn't picked but it has won a couple of different shows,” Ms Foenander says.

“It’s a great part of the artist’s journey to enter the Archibald and go on that road trip top the Art Gallery of NSW.”

Ms Foenander says the natural world is her eternal inspiration. She says many of the paintings in her present exhibition draw their inspiration from water, and have been created in the past summer.

“I’m obsessed with water, she says, “I love to be in water, observing water, painting water. I like to try and translate it into oil paint, to give the viewer the feeling of freedom and joy that you get when you are immersed in water.”

Ms Foenander says this is her first exhibition at the gallery in Ballarat. The gallery is holding a meet the artist session on Saturday April 29, and she is hopping to meet people in the city to discuss her work.

“I’m hoping that people in Ballarat will embrace my work. I can meet people here between 12 and 3pm, and I’d love to have a chat about my work – or anything that interests them.”

Art House Ballarat is in the City Centre Arcade on Sturt Street. The show opens April 28, at 5.30pm.