Having been creative throughout childhood, my first formal education in art practices began with a Bachelor of Fine Art (1978 - West Australian Institute of Technology). After years of working other jobs, changing dwellings and rearing children, I returned to Curtin University to complete a Master of Creative Arts (2003).
I have been in Margaret River for around forty years, not counting the thirteen years spent in Perth, so having come out of art school with a strong abstract sensibility, its not surprising that the locale and environment of this south west region has impacted my palette and style in a huge way.
My art practice has changed many times over the last forty years or so, flowing between painting, sculpture and hybrid pieces. For me it is very much about the process of making art - choosing which material might best describe a feeling or a thought and how best to depict that, whether it be three dimensional or two dimensional.
Although predominantly a painter, I have crafted things out of wood, bamboo, raffia, cloth and cardboard - each of these elements brings a different slant to the work in progress. It is in this process that the art becomes translational. Even though I have an idea of what I am trying to achieve, its not always obvious until the moment it is.
Predominately my paintings can be described as abstract landscape, depicting a sense of place through light, balance of shapes and colour, and most definitely a mood. I don't like to imply that there is only one way of looking at an artwork, it is more about feeling one's way into the painting even if the initial engagement is purely through colour. I like to create a reason to look, and look again, and over time to still discover more.
If I can engage the viewer to find their own meaning, I feel then I have achieved something more than just an image. It’s always a plus to stimulate conversation, generate exploration of one’s own imagination and maybe even feel differently about the world we live in.
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