{"id":587793,"date":"2026-04-05T21:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/587793\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T21:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T21:18:12","slug":"terminal-diagnosis-hasnt-stopped-the-final-exhibition-for-joan-humble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/587793\/","title":{"rendered":"Terminal diagnosis hasn’t stopped the final exhibition for Joan Humble"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a lifetime of capturing Tasmanian landscapes and winning international recognition for her miniature works, artist Joan Humble is holding her final exhibition.<\/p>\n

The 88-year-old has a terminal cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n

But she is determined to keep painting as long as she can still hold a brush.<\/p>\n

“I want to make the most of the rest of my time. I’ve got five commissions to do, so I’ve got to keep going,” Humble said.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

In 2014, Joan Humble won the Golden Bowl, the highest international prize for miniature artwork. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

She says painting is keeping her alive.<\/p>\n

“You can’t think about your body at all when you’re painting, you’ve got to concentrate on what colour you’ve got on your brush,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Every brushstroke counts.”\"Paintings<\/p>\n

Humble says painting helps to keep her alive. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

Tasmanian landscapes captured in minute detail<\/p>\n

Humble is known for her works in miniature, capturing vast vistas of wilderness in tiny works of art.<\/p>\n

“When you are looking at a miniature, you’re looking at the whole subject, so everything has to work,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Your eyes are not travelling around the painting; you can see exactly what’s in front of you, so it’s got to be right.”<\/p>\n

In 2014, Humble won the Golden Bowl, the highest international prize for miniature artwork.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Many of Humble’s artworks are images of Tasmania’s rugged South West Wilderness, inspired by her visits there. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

Like many of her artworks, the winning painting was of a scene from Tasmania’s South West Wilderness.<\/p>\n

She has visited the remote location 16 times and plans to take one more trip.<\/p>\n

“It’s true wilderness, absolutely unspoilt, rugged,” Humble said.<\/p>\n

“I paint what I love. You can’t paint it if you’re not enjoying the subject.”<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

The artworks produced by Humble require intricate brushstrokes and attention to detail. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

Large to small \u2014 Joan Humble’s exhibition<\/p>\n

Humble has finished work on an exhibition of more than 40 works.<\/p>\n

It has taken her three years to complete the paintings, which range in size from large to small pictures, some covering just 10 centimetres by 5 centimetres.<\/p>\n

Humble’s exhibition is on at the Lady Franklin Gallery just outside of Hobart, a building dating back to the 1840s built in the Greek Revivalist architectural style, which was privately funded by Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of Tasmania’s then-lieutenant-governor, Sir John Franklin.<\/p>\n

The space is now home to the Art Society of Tasmania.<\/p>\n

\"Paintings<\/p>\n

It’s taken Humble three years to paint the collection for her final exhibition. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

The vice president of the society, Vicki Chapman, said Humble’s realist style of paintings captures wild places, particularly Port Davey in Tasmania’s far south.<\/p>\n

“They are very precise and those who have been down there and know the area, you could pick exactly where it is,” Ms Chapman said.<\/p>\n

“Joan is recognised for her miniatures all over the world. She’s exhibited in Russia, England and Europe and she is in collections all around the world.”\"Woman<\/p>\n

Joan Humble has been described as an inspiration, with an impressive attitude towards life. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)<\/p>\n

Ms Chapman described Humble as an inspiration.<\/p>\n

“When you are driven and she is driven to get up and paint every day, what a wonderful way to live your life,” she said.<\/p>\n

Humble said she was grateful for her life as an artist, her “wonderful” husband and her oncologist.<\/p>\n

“I look back and think of all the blessings I’ve had and the happiness I’ve had through my life.<\/p>\n

“How you think about things makes a big difference. I could just sit in a chair and mope, where would that get me?” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a lifetime of capturing Tasmanian landscapes and winning international recognition for her miniature works, artist Joan Humble…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[287353,4624,449,458,459,64,63,1617,460,134,15940,22033,287352,287355,40121,124733,79947,287354],"class_list":{"0":"post-587793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-art-society-of-tasmania","9":"tag-artist","10":"tag-arts","11":"tag-arts-and-design","12":"tag-artsanddesign","13":"tag-au","14":"tag-australia","15":"tag-cancer","16":"tag-design","17":"tag-entertainment","18":"tag-exhibition","19":"tag-final-show","20":"tag-joan-humble","21":"tag-lady-franklin-gallery","22":"tag-miniature","23":"tag-miniature-art","24":"tag-terminal-illness","25":"tag-vicki-chapman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}