January 2023, is nearly over! so there's no going back now. what will this year bring or herald. I stayed very close to home the past few years and so I wonder if I will travel further afield. I hope so but I have found a little niche here, a sanctuary and it treats my soul kindly. I love the ocean, the river and the trees. There is even a chance I may work with trees, baby ones. In a nursery in Traveston. Yesterday, I went early in the morning for a walk in the National Park. It was so beautiful. After that, I went for a swim at Main Beach. All before 7am. I think it is experiences like this that now inform my work. I am pleased to say that I have two works included in the upcoming Noosa More Than The Sum of its Parts at the Noosa Regional Gallery. It opens on 3rd Feb from 5.30pm. I hope you can join us. I think it will be a grand opening.
Getting Around Can Be Tricky | Early Morning Swim at Main Beach
oil on board, 90 x 80cm, 2023
I entered a work, 'The Other Side of Paradise' into the Caloundra Gallery Local Content Art Prize. ‘The Other Side of Paradise’, an expressionist oil painting, places the figure in an environment which reflects our natural coastal surroundings of bright sunshine and waterways. It explores the societal angst many people experience, despite living in a ‘perfect and beautiful place’ on the coast. The ubiquitous smiley emoji, conveys all is well, while behind the smile, we struggle with more complex situations and emotions. A distorted mirror, as the body of water upon which he gazes, reflects the disconnect with how we feel and what we ‘post’ to the world. The porous surface evokes the fluid world we inhabit as we search for a sense of place, often unable to gain a solid ‘grip’.
The Other Side of Paradise, oil on canvas, 91x 91cm, 2023
The artistic influence and incredible visual and narrative power that I have experienced from looking at some of our astoundingly talented Indigenous artists will be something that I will always be grateful for. In many of these amazing works, I saw the intrinsic emotive and knowledge that paint in the hands of masters, can portray and speak where we can see the transference of knowledge is at its highest calling. It is a contentious time, that raises its head on the national consciousness on the significance of a day. As with all things that involve history, thus time, politics, power and disenfranchisement, people who have lost and gained, voices rise in order to be heard and maybe hope that positions shift. I paint my appreciation, acknowledgment and marvel at the enduring survival and thriving of this extraordinary culture and it's modern artistic interpretation. In my work, Listening to the Dreaming, I show this listening.
Listening to the Dreaming, oil on canvas, 91 x 76cm, 2012
It is the Year of the Rabbit. As a rabbit, born in the so called year of it, I bounce with giddy delight into what I hope, will be my good year. What does this mean? I'll tell you this time next year. Only then will I really know. Meanwhile, I take this as an opportunity to resurface some of the rabbits I have painted over the years. A rabbit tend to represent the 'scared, skittish' aspect of ourselves. Quick to hide, easy to wound, the side of us that desires protection. An early childhood exposure to Alice probably was an influence too.
Don't Go Down the Rabbit Hole, oil on canvas, 91 x 91cm, 2021
Comfortably Numb, oil on linen, 91 x 91cm, 2018
Pull a Rabbit From the Hat, oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm, 2014
Dog and Rabbit, oil on board, 80 x 80cm, 2018
A Startled White Rabbit, oil on canvas, 130 x 85cm, 1997
A cuddly cat is a rare find.