My Art Story
Why art
My mother was an artist and architect, and she loved to take us kids to galleries and museums. The art gallery is my church - filled with light, colour and mystery. Art gives me insight and an appreciation of other humans and the wider world. I create art because I have to - but its purpose is still vexed. My human drives are not unique - curiosity, love, alarm, fear, awe - but I choose to channel these in part through making "art" .
Drawing
Throughout my life I have always drawn - using every kind of pencil or marker. I have forayed into painting - but always come back to drawing. My focus for my Honours project in 2025 was on my drawing practice, and this year has expanded my practice into performance drawing, video and animation. Drawing is a vast field - defined simply as one surface touching another.
Urban sketching
I enjoy sketching outdoors as a way of experiencing the world with a deeper reflection and appreciation for the environment. It's lovely to chat with passers by while sketching, and to meet with other sketchers. Each sketch holds memories of the place and people I met. I joined Adelaide Urban Sketchers in 2021 and I have found this to be a great way to practice my drawing skills. I went to the Asia Link Sketchwalk in Penang in August 2024, and met many hundreds of amazing artists there. I am currently interested in drawing public sculptures, as part of my Honours project in 2025. I drew every sculpture in the Chihuly exhibition in the Botanic Gardens. My urban sketchbooks are a treasured foundation for development of other works.
Prizes and shows
I have entered a few prizes and group shows, and earned some accolades: * Peoples' Choice Award, Royal Society of Arts members exhibition, January 2023. This was for the picture shown here of my dogs eye. * Highly Commended award from Blackwood Rotary Art show, 2024. This was for a charcoal drawing of a male figure in the landscape. * Winner, Bald Archies Portrait Prize 2009. This was for my portrait of Charles, which is now hanging in the Grace Emily Hotel. * Finalist West Torrens Art Prize, 2022. My painting sold at the opening.
Painting
My paintings are usually figurative and have a story. I think a lot about composition and colour, and I usually plan this out quite carefully. I use acrylic paint for quicker results, or where I need texture, or for underpainting layers. Oils are more refined and allow me to be more accurate with colours and details in the final layers. Painting is really a solitary activity - best done carefully alone in the studio. That said, I have had some success painting "all prima" quickly. My painting of the Black Cockatoo was carefully planned and drawn up, but the painting was completed in just 2 hours as artist in residence at Blackwood Rotary. My fellow artists at the Splashout studio call me speedy because I can paint quickly once I know the basic layout.
