Philippa Blair was born in 1945 in Christchurch, New Zealand. She studied at the University of Canterbury from 1965 to 1967, under Rudolf Gopas and Don Peebles. She graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts (painting) in 1967. At age 22 Blair married and went to live at Wairoa, teaching art at the local college, before living in Australia for several years. It was at this point that she began to commit herself seriously to painting.

In 1976 Blair completed a Diploma of Teaching in Secondary School File Art at Secondary Teachers' College in Auckland, New Zealand.

Philippa Blair's early painting works produced while living in Australia include Open Window - Brisbane (1969) and Primary Reflection (Melbourne 1971). Init...