Gabrielle Courtenay is an artist who has always been interested in pictorial space, aesthetic ornament and the symbolism of beauty. Her paintings while simple in their monochrome colour and sparse placement in space are redolent with metaphorical intent. Her artworks have imbedded narratives that act as a catalyst for the imagination. Her painting is informed by abstraction and her symbolic language references both the 'vanitas tradition' and the work of the early feminine surrealists.

Her artistic responses are attuned to the coincidences of circumstance and in recent years Art Residencies in Australia’s outback and overseas has had a direct influence on her work. Courtenay's recent Red Gate Residency, Beijing in 2010 reinforced her belief in the interconnectedness of all living things, the ephemeral nature of life and its fragile balance in the natural world.

Courtenay has moved across different areas of commercial and public art. She has worked for many years as an Art Consultant and muralist completing numerous mural commissions for hotels, restaurants, public buildings and private residencies in Australia and overseas. She currently works with architects as a colour and materials consultant as well as select mural commissions.