JOURNAL

Me and UooUoo for the Royal Children’s Hospital – Part 1

In early 2020 I was selected as one of 100 artists who would participate in the Royal Children’s Hospital 150th Anniversary art trail. We were commissioned to each paint a statue of a UooUoo, a mythical creature kind of like a friendly wombat of prehistoric proportions, in our own unique

Wallaby standing still in the Grampians

I’m looking up at an ochre and charcoal cliff face that over time has been shaped and smoothed by the winds rolling up the mountain side. I can’t see down into the valley from here because the other side of the path is lined with foliage about two meters high.

Upcoming exhibition – encounters with Australian nature

A public and free exhibition of my work is scheduled to be held in the Melbourne City Library public gallery during spring 2020. The exhibition will feature recent works that depict Australian nature accompanied by written memories of how I found them. I will post more information as the date

Local gumnuts

It’s autumn and I know the sun is setting earlier, but I still have time to take a longer route on my walk home before I am confined inside for the night. I turn down a street I rarely go down because there is no reason for me to ever

Magenta and fuscia gumnuts

Beneath the eucalypt tree I can faintly smell its leaves and hear a shrill myna searching for nectar above. The red and pink fluffy stamen of gumnuts surround my feet in a carpet on the ground, in a similar way that my hair lines the floor after a haircut. It’s

Banksia in the forest - Oil on canvas - 40cm x 50cm

Summer banksia

The shade from the trees is the only reason I am able to be out here in this heat for this long. I’m not carrying enough water to be able to walk for hours in direct sunlight. The vegetation around me thrives in this weather and won’t care if I

Spring wattle

I push the pedals hard to get my mountain bike up over the ridge. I have arrived at a Y junction in the dirt track. If I go right I can roll smoothly downhill towards the river. If I go left I’ll need to navigate a narrow, rocky path, chunky

Local grevillea

When the sun came out for the first time today I decided to get outside and enjoy it. The front door closes behind me and I feel the sunrays brushing my face and can still smell moisture in the air from the morning’s light rain. If embarking on a pointless

Greater crested tern on Sydney beach

I walk along the path that follows low cliffs and look out over the sparkling bay. Yachts and motorboats bounce across white peaks at various speeds while the stationary smaller boats of amateur fishermen bob in their wakes. On the other side are large ocean-facing residences of the more fortunate

Everything natural in Australia is unique and that’s something worth celebrating through art. These paintings have been inspired by my encounters with Australian nature.

JOURNAL