Frank Nowlan became interested in art while at Teachers College in the 1960s. He then set painting aside for 30 years to pursue life as a high school history teacher. Recommencing in 1992, he now works from his studio in the Australian town of Thirroul, south of Sydney. Nowlan has explored diverse content including historical events, vernacular architecture, sport, and political landscapes. His painting style and subject selection is idiosyncratic, based on natural instinct and observations of social life.

Nowlan’s work is widely loved and collected in Australia and is held in significant private collections as well as the Wollongong University Collection and the Wollongong City Gallery. He is a past winner of the Fishers Ghost Contemporary Art Award. His painting was recently included in Australasian Painters 2007 –2017, an Artist Profile survey show at Orange Regional Gallery. Along with previous touring shows to Hawkesbury Regional Gallery and Wollongong City Gallery, this places his work within a comprehensive overview of contemporary painting in Australia. 2019 he was part of The Egg & Dart exhibition at Auckland Art Fair, New Zealand.