METHOD:
I paint Modernist landscapes and portraits, mostly from my imagination and dreams, sometimes only loosely based on reality.
My interest is in how feeling and dialogue can be conveyed simply with colour and line, and also the resulting effect on people's mental and emotional health.
The form is only a vehicle for this.
Recently I have been playing with the arrangement of flat colour planes to describe a scene, rather than a purely figurative depiction of the subject.
The first step is to prime the canvas with acrylic in a single colour carefully chosen to evoke the mood I'm after eg orange, aqua, purple, or pink.....all will create a different effect when the top colours react with them.
Next oil paint is applied with a palette knife, letting the base colour work by showing through, and keeping the tone alive.
Often the subject itself is left raw, and formed only by painting in the negative space around it. It's a personal challenge not to pre-draw these forms but let them grow organically.
I used to work very impasto, but now like to let the canvas texture and background colour be an integral part of the painting.
HISTORY:
I started painting in 1993, and during this Stage 1 of my career exhibited from the Sunshine Coast, Qld to northern NSW. I have paintings in private collections in France, England, USA, Canada, and Greece, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Highlights at this time were my first solo exhibition at Cronulla Gallery, Mt Tamborine, Qld, and winning the Courier Mail Landscape prize in 2000, where one of the 3 judges was esteemed gallery owner Philip Bacon. I sold on consignment through the Rainbird Art Gallery, Montville in the early 2000's (now the Montville Gallery).
Life got in the way of my art in 2005, as it can, but I was inescapably drawn back in 2014 and my first new piece was accepted as a Finalist in the Lethbridge 10000 ("Glade"), and then sold! This encouraged me to pursue my craft professionally and Stage 2 began.
2014:
* Finalist Lethbridge 10000
2015:
* Finalist Lethbridge 10000
* In September I had a successful second solo exhibition, "Songs of Light and Colour" at Percolator Gallery, Paddington, Qld, selling seven paintings. My thanks to everyone that supported my work, and the 300+ people who stopped by for some interesting chats.
2016:
* Finalist Lethbridge 10000
* Finalist in the Moreton Bay Art Award
* My proposal was accepted for the six month 'Outside In' exhibition at St Vincent's Private Hospital from January to June, where I had the further honour of being the artist selected for the sensitive area of Palliative Care. It was truly rewarding to know my work was able to give relief to those suffering; patients, family, and staff. Permission was granted for limited edition prints to be made from two of my artworks for their lending library for immobile patients.
2017:
* I am in print! thanks to ART/EDIT magazine's Summer edition (Issue 12). January - March. Please check it out for the wonderful comments from Brendan Wong, Brett Mickan, and Jane Stark.
* 'Outside In' Exhibition at St Vincent's from January to June, this time in the very busy Chronic Pain & Rehabilitation Ward. Hopefully my work was a distraction for those with extensive recovery periods.
* Accepted for the Moreton Bay Regional Council's professional development course Cultivate the Arts - Intensive in February, run by Edgeware consultants, and part of a documentary with the other talented members of our group.
* Speaker at the Creative Voices Forum at North Lakes in June, about my course experience.
* Finalist Rotary Art Spectacular
* Finalist Lethbridge 10000
* Group exhibitions: "Foot Square", "Black and White", and "Landscapes" all three at Aspire gallery, Paddington, Qld, also "Senses and Consequences" at Jugglers Art Space in the City, and the Matthew Flinders Art Award at Bribie Island Art Gallery.
* again featured in Art/Edit magazine, Issue 14 in August - October.
* Third solo exhibition 'Fire and Ice' was very successful also at Percolator gallery, Paddington, Qld from 26 September to 8 October. The main theme this time was my impressions of the Highlands of Iceland, which I visited in June 2016 (for the Midnight Sun) and again in March 2017 (for the Northern Lights). Please see the "Fire and Ice" page for more information.
* "Hamingja" was a Finalist in the Brisbane Art Prize, held at the Judith Wright Centre for Contemporary Art in Fortitude Valley, from 5-28 October.
2018
* Group exhibition MBAC, Redcliffe Arts Centre, February
* Finalist "Petite Pieces" Aspire Gallery, Paddington, Qld, February
* Start Up Moreton Bay Region course, Cert III in Micro Business Operations, February - June
* Finalist Rotary Art Spectacular, 14 - 19 May
* Finalist Moreton Bay Art Award, 18 - 27 May
* Finalist Stanthorpe Art Prize, 14 June - 21 July
* Finalist Lethbridge 10000, 12 - 22 July
* 'Outside In' exhibition, Holy Spirit Hospital, Chermside (foyer and main corridor) Aug - Jan 2019
2019
* 'Principles of Curating', and 'Exhibition Management' courses, facilitator Nicole Voevodin-Cash, Flying Arts Alliance, 2-3 and 16-17 February
* RASarts Exhibition of Excellence, Redcliffe Art Gallery, 6 April - 1 June
* Fourth solo exhibition 'Hands Up' at The Hub Regional Gallery, Caboolture, 7 May - 1 June.
Moreton Bay Regional Council purchases a painting for their Public Art Collection
* Finalist Rotary Art Spectacular, 13 - 17 May
* Finalist Moreton Bay Art Awards, 18 - 26 May
* Samford and Surrounds Art Trail, Ciel Art Studio, Eatons Hill, weekends 1 - 30 June
* Tutor art classes, Ciel Art Studio, Eatons Hill, 29 - 30 June
* Finalist Lethbridge 20000, 27 June - 6 July
* Fifth solo exhibition Percolator Gallery, Paddington, Qld, 23 - 28 July
* 'Outside In' exhibition, St Vincent's Private Hospital (Pain Management Centre) Aug - Jan 2020
* The Wonder of Difference - Intercultural Exhibition, Stage Door Gallery, Redcliffe Entertainment Centre, 22 October - 17 November
* Art Residency in Westfjords, Iceland, researching the effect of fading light and isolation on the psyche 15 November - 26 December
2020
* solo exhibition Old Fire Station, Redcliffe, 22 June - 20 July (cancelled due to COVID19)
* Samford Art Trails, every weekend in June (cancelled due to COVID-19)
* tutoring classes in Hebel Sculpture and Painting Negative Space (cancelled due to COVID-19)
* Finalist Lethbridge 20000, June
* Finalist Queensland Regional Arts Award, 17 August - 14 September, and touring Regional Queensland Galleries from 2020 - 2022
* Courses in Strategic Planning (August), Marketing (October), Exhibition Design (November) with Creative Samford.
* RAS Exhibition of Excellence, Redcliffe Art Gallery, 7 November - 5 December
2021
* Isolation Exhibition, Stage Door Gallery, Redcliffe Entertainment Centre 19 January - 28 February
* Off Trails Exhibition, Samford 27-28 February
* Invigilation, Qld Regional Arts Award, Judith Wright Centre 4 and 11 March
* Arts and Artisans Market, Redcliffe 27 March
* Finalist Lethbridge 20000 18 - 26 June
* RAS Exhibition of Excellence, Redcliffe Regional Gallery 19 June - 24 July
* RAS Annual Exhibition, Redcliffe Old Fire Station Gallery 14 July - 1 August
* Brisbane Portrait Prize, Salon Des Refuses, RQAS Gallery 7 - 31 October
* Off Trails Exhibition, Samford 29 - 30 October
* Demonstration en plein air, Tawny Trails, Ocean View Vineyards 28 November
2022 (A difficult year: moving house and the death of my mother)
* Finalist Lethbridge 20000 10-18 June
* Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery 2-30 July
* Small Works, Aspire Gallery 6-31 August
* Samford Off-trails Art Fair 12 November
2023
* Petite Pieces, Aspire Gallery 4 March-15 April
* Finalist Splash Exhibition, RQAS Gallery 31 March-23 April
* Salon des Refuses Sunshine Coast Local Artists, Caloundra 13 April-7 May
* Finalist Rustle Exhibition, Aspire Gallery, Paddington 6 May-3 June
* Samford Valley Art Trails, Makers on Main Studio 3,4,10,11,17,18,24,25 June
* Finalist RQAS Members Exhibition 14 June-23 July
* Finalist Lethbridge 20000, 16-27 June
* 50 Square, Brunswick Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC 24 June - 7 July
* Finalist Brisbane Rotary Art Show 17-22 July
* Finalist Roam Exhibition, Aspire Gallery, August
* Brush with Nature, joint Exhibition, Richard Randall Gallery, Brisbane Botanical Gardens, 20-24 September
* Finalist Bayside Art Show, Brighton, VIC 24-28 November
* Finalist Foot Square, Aspire Gallery, Paddington 25 November - 23 December
2024
* Small Works, Brunswick Gallery, Fitzroy, VIC 6-19 January
Stay tuned for more news!