For most of my life I have lived in the Margaret River region in the beautiful south-west of Western Australia. Inspiration for my art comes from bushwalking, sketching outdoors and observing the natural environment of the many places I visit. This will be the 13th year that I have participated in MRROS and I always look forward to meeting and chatting with art lovers about my work.
It will also be the first time I open my new purpose- built home studio. It’s been a labour of love starting with a beautiful gate and pathway leading to the front door. Jarrah bookshelves and sliding viewing racks, courtesy of my husband Bill, maximise my storage space. Set within my garden I have the birds to keep me company while I work.
Open Studios gives me a chance to show how I work and to discuss the many techniques I use in its creation. Visitors can expect to see work in progress, small etchings, my visual diaries, larger works incorporating collage, printmaking and painting and ‘fumagé’ works. Most of my current work is on paper which I often blind emboss with endemic plants. I then paint my subject in gouache and use a ‘fumagé’ technique, smoking and adding soot to the paper from a burning candle giving the subject an ethereal presence. Reduction drawing is the final step in creating these works, mostly of birds and other wildlife. The imprint of the plant and the fumagé relates to fire and regeneration, a constant process in the environment. In other work I combine painting and traditional etching methods to portray my love of nature. I also love to work in a large format that enables me to bring in aspects of the landscapes I visit. So much of my work is on paper.
My art practice spans over 20 years, and I have participated in many group exhibitions. I have been a finalist in numerous awards including The Waterhouse Natural History Prize S. A., The Jury Art Prize, The 41st Alice Prize N. T., Collie Art Prize and WAMA (works on paper) Ararat Vic. My work has also been included in Art Fairs in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. I am represented by The Studio Gallery Yallingup www.thestudiogallery.com.au and Salt Contemporary Art Queenscliff VIC www.salt-art.com.au