Australian Painter working from Sydney’s Northern Beaches

About the Artist

Holly Mahoney is an Australian painter whose gestural works explore the energy and atmosphere of ocean and sky.

Working from her studio on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Mahoney responds to the movement of water, shifting weather and expansive light through expressive drawing and layered mark-making. Her works capture moments of tension and release in the natural world, where sea, sky and atmosphere converge.

Her practice sits within the tradition of expressive Australian landscape painting, focusing on movement, light and elemental forces of the Pacific coastline.

Mahoney was a finalist in the Gallipoli Art Prize, and her work is held in private collections in Australia and internationally.

Read more about her early beginnings and inspiration in the artist’s blog: ‘Drawn to paint’

A woman with long black hair, dressed in black, kneeling and smiling in an art studio with four ocean-themed paintings behind her.

Artistic process

Drawing lies at the heart of Mahoney’s practice, with many works beginning as instinctive responses to the movement of water and shifting coastal weather.

View video of the creative process.

Career Highlights

Holly holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts with a double major in Painting & Drawing from the University of Ballarat and was recognized as a Finalist Gallipoli Art Prize 2021

View past exhibitions here.

The joy of mark-making is central to Mahoney’s creative process. Confident layers and textures build surfaces that reveal new details over time.

Landscapes & Light

Northern Beaches Artist—Holly Mahoney—pictured in front of original coastal artworks depicting the ocean and seascapes of the local area

Holly’s landscapes respond to the dynamic movement of the ocean and expansive coastal skies. Dramatic light and vibrant colour create a strong sense of atmosphere and place.

Layered gestural brushstrokes build depth within the surface, revealing subtle shifts of light and movement.

Painting by local Northern Beaches Artist, Holly Mahoney of North Head, Manly.

Painting of ocean waves with a large breaking wave in the foreground, with shades of blue, green, white, and black.

An abstract painting of ocean waves crashing onto a sandy shoreline with dark sky background.

A painting of a couple embracing on the beach, with the ocean and sky in the background. The woman is wearing a black swimsuit, and the man is shirtless and wearing black shorts.

Figures in the composition

Alongside her landscapes, Holly explores the human figure through expressive drawing and layered mark-making. Many works begin with charcoal or paint sketched directly onto paper or canvas.

By blending abstraction with moments of realism, she creates artworks that capture the fluid relationship between form and emotion. Her signature style combines expressive drawn lines in her paintings with layered washes in works on paper.

Holly is also the founder of the Underground Sketch Club, a welcoming space where creative individuals come together to sketch the human form in a relaxed and supportive environment.