Roberts, Ian Thomas   (1952 -  )

He was born in 1952 in Blyth, South Australia;

Attended Brinkworth Primary School, SA (1957-1966).
Attended Clare High School, SA 1967-1968.

He was a farmer in the Blyth district of South Australia from 1968-1984.

He became a full time artist in the mid 1980s.

He is now a nationally recognised Australian bird and native plant painter and book illustrator.

His drawings illustrated 'Eucalypts of Western Australia's Wheatbelt' by Malcolm French and 'Native Eucalypts of South Australia' by Dean Nicolle.

In 2013, lan Roberts received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

He is a co-director, with his wife Narelle, of the Medika Gallery in Blyth, South Australia where he lives and works.

Nearly two decades ago, artist Ian Roberts set out to paint every known eucalypt. His project is finally nearing completion [2025] with about 770 watercolours created to represent the 900 eucalypt species and varieties.

But the art project has had another, unexpected outcome – the creation of a forest.

Thanks to a unique partnership with one of the world's leading eucalyptus scientists, Dean Nicolle, Mr Roberts planted hundreds of trees along a former rail corridor in the small South Australian town of Blyth.

The 'Dean Nicolle Eucalypt Walk' was opened in August 2025 and Mr Roberts honoured that partnership by naming the forest track after Dr Nicolle and opening it to the public.

The 4.4-kilometre signposted botanical trail features more than 2,000 Australian plant species, including 300 varieties of rare eucalypt, many of them almost unheard of in South Australia.

Source: Extracted from:
https://au.linkedin.com/in/ian-roberts-106b7762
https://www.aasd.com.au/artist/18663-ian-thomas-roberts/
https://www.burragallery.au/ian-roberts/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Roberts_(painter)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-20/rail-trail-forest-blyth-dean-nicolle-eucalypt-walk-sa/105779316
Portrait Photo: 2025, opening of Eucalypt Walk, ABC News.