It's not hard to understand why Allyson Parsons has sold more than 1000 paintings into corporate and private collections throughout Australia and overseas. Brushing acrylic paint onto canvas, Ally has discovered a medium which showcases her phenomenal eye for fine detail. A delightful paradox of enchanting beauty amidst drought and desolation feature often in her life-like paintings. "But that is Australia," she says."It can be so desolate and barren, so tough and harsh. But at the same time you can spot a few blossoming flowers, adding a real softness and beauty."

Captivated by the moods, mystery and magic of the Australian bush, Yorke Peninsula's Allyson Parsons is one of the most sought-after artists in the country. The often dry landscapes of Yorke Peninsula and the subtle beauty of the few nearby pockets of native scrub provide the inspiration for Allyson's work. The bush provides endless opportunities for brush and paint. Each moment offers a new chance; new lighting, new colours, new tones - a new painting.

Allyson's career began almost accidentally. She was 17 at the time and had taken the year off after high school to contemplate her career options, when she was approached by the local girl guides who were putting on an art exhibition in Port Vincent for charity. They asked Allyson if she could do seven small paintings as they were short a few in numbers. It was a bit of a gamble. They knew Allyson wasn't a trained artist, but they also knew she had done well in art at school. Around the same time, someone suggested to Allyson that she should paint something for the Victor Harbour Art Exhibition. This exhibition is one of the biggest, most prestigious art exhibitions in South Australia.

Allyson was rather nervous about it all as she was uncertain about her abilities, but then figured that she may as well have a try at it. Allyson's "try at it" turned out to be a monumental understatement. All of the seven paintings that she did for the Girl Guide's exhibition gathered 'sold' stickers at an alarming rate. The three works that she entered in the Victor Harbour exhibition not only sold, but one was awarded one of the major art prizes of the show.

Her canvas 'In Harmony' won top award in the section value up to $500 and placed second overall in the exhibition, which attracted 1,032 entries. The painting was of an old broken wagon wheel half buried in the grass overgrowing the machinery graveyard on the farm property where she lived. It was this painting which also brought her to the attention of the internationally renowned Adelaide artist and art critic, Ainslie Roberts, who was astounded by the young artist's work. He was amazed at the dimension Allyson showed in her works, as he had never experienced it in anyone so young during his 60 years of art involvement.

Ainslie Roberts became Allyson's valued mentor as he offered her advice and encouragement. He saw what he believed was 'a genuine touch of genius' in this 18 year-old talented youngster and advised her to use her natural abilities and begin painting, untutored.

"She is one of the rare gifted few who were born with the instinct for doing everything right with brush and paint. What she has achieved in a few short years is probably unique in the history of Australian art. There were no tentative beginnings, no slow struggle for recognition of the mature talents, techniques and perceptions of acknowledged artist three times her age. She has a remarkable affinity with the inner life of the Australian bushland since she has known and loved since childhood. And her haunting paintings extract the magic of it with a tantalising sense of the mystery of secret places." Ainslie Roberts, 1990.

In the years that followed, her paintings of bushland near her Lower Yorke Peninsula home won a swag of major art awards. Allyson Parsons, or better known as 'the farmers daughter with a touch of genius' shook the art buffs with the success of her first solo painting exhibition. People were queued up in the street in the freezing cold from 8 o'clock the night before. The gallery opened at 10am and less than 30 minutes later every one of her 20 paintings were sold with a limit of one painting per person.

Now painting mostly oil on canvas as well as watercolour, her work reflects the rural landscape where she grew up on the Yorke Peninsula/Mid North area of South Australia.  And now also - outback Australia, Simpson Desert, and pastoral country emerges through her art.

Allyson was born in rural South Australia in 1965, and works full-time in her studio near Port Vincent, South Australia.  She shares her passion with her sons, Henry and Jack.