Rare Earth…cried the real estate agent

Adelaide-based artist Deborah Smalley works primarily with ink and watercolour to capture the beauty, character, and quiet stories of her local environment. Based in Norwood, South Australia, she is largely self-taught and draws inspiration from the “imperfect” — the ageing façades, quirky streetscapes, architectural details, and overlooked corners of everyday life. Her process begins with direct observation: wandering laneways, historic precincts, cemeteries, and suburban streets, she creates quick, expressive ink sketches that evolve into richly coloured watercolour works. Smalley celebrates both the built heritage and the visual poetry of faded materials, textures, and time-worn surfaces. Beyond her studio practice, she is an active community artist and educator, leading workshops that invite participants to engage with place, memory, and the act of drawing as a way of connecting with history. Smalley’s work invites us to pause and look more closely. What might first appear as a simple street or a crumbling building becomes a reflection of time, material, and the human presence that shapes our shared spaces. Through her sensitive mark-making and delicate palette, she reveals the quiet beauty of the built world — its flaws, its resilience, and its enduring stories.