The Qeej Player for the Hmong Soul

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Pam Schultz is an award-winning representational fine artist. Her paintings are in the collection of national and international patrons. “My appreciation of art began at home in Melbourne, where I was fascinated by my grandmother’s oil paintings hanging on the walls. I started drawing earnestly around eight years old. I excelled at art in school and by grade 12, I was enrolled in a Diploma of Art at Caufield Institute of Technology (now Monash University). My first artistic job was a textile artist at a clothing factory in Melbourne. I designed textile patterns and took the illustrations overseas to England where I was based for three years. I travelled around Europe, West Asia and America visiting art galleries, stately homes and cathedrals. In London, I worked for an animation studio where I created illustrations for commercials. Back in Australia, I became enthralled by the tropical landscapes in North Queensland and became involved in lobbying for their protection through my art. Influenced by anthropology studies at university, I began to paint portraits in 2003. Then I began to choose people who were conservation ecologists as this theme suited my passion as one who aimed for the same goal. I worked in the field of natural resource management following the achievement of a PhD in Environmental Science. Amongst other recent commendations, I won first prize in 2019 for “The Ethnobotonist” in the competition Artists of the North in Cairns. In 2020, I received a high commendation for “Grasswren Country Laid Down” at the Cairns Regional Gallery.”