Bruno Leepin

Bruno Leepin was born in Valga, Estonia, in 1941, and arrived in Australia in 1950 as a refugee. At Shepparton Technical College, his art teacher taught him to use watercolour, and Bruno began a life of painting. In 1961, with a teaching scholarship, he completed a Diploma of Graphic Design at Caulfield Institute of Technology.

Bruno worked as a graphic designer at ABC TV in the 1960s. He also worked in television, including BBC London. In 1971, he set up ACME Graphic Studio in Melbourne and was a freelance illustrator for various publishers and advertising agencies. He returned to ABC graphics and production facilities in 1975 for the next 16 years. In the 90s, he lectured on illustration and graphic design at Moorabbin College and Latrobe University, Bendigo.

Bruno first exhibited his paintings in 1984 at Castlemaine Artists Co-Op 5th Annual Exhibition. He was a regular exhibitor with Castlemaine Artists Inc and at The Bricky Show. He and his family moved to Castlemaine in the 1980s, their mudbrick home built by George Butcher of the Brickworks.

Bruno enjoys being a realist landscape painter, drawing portraits and illustrative work, and is currently working in abstraction – applying what he learned at art school: freedom.