I have always drawn and painted and excelled in art at school. As a young adult I began studies in Art but found it difficult to sustain an adequate income. It was not until I married and had my first child that I was able to pursue my dreams of working as an Artist while staying home to bring up our young children. At this time I also began conducting art lessons for other aspiring artists and became a sought after teacher tutoring at TAFE College, Artist Network University, regional art groups and festivals, private galleries and my own studio.
I have been a regular tutor at the Royal Queensland Art Society at the Gold Coast since 2004. In recent years I have felt the need to return to full time studies in fine art to focus on developing skills in professional practice and to expand and clarify my creative vision. My recent work reflects my new interest in using abstraction and deconstruction to demonstrate the precarious nature of our world.
The shapes and textures seen in my surroundings and the flow and continuity of form inspire my work; thus organic, plant and geomorphic fragments can be seen in my paintings. My process generally begins with flowing wet on wet watercolour washes or passages along with brush marks that allude to floral or plantlike structures. After this I begin an intuitive process of interaction with the resulting dried marks, adding and subtracting, defining and defusing, fragmenting and unifying and often layering with collage and additional mixed media.
Elements of geometric and man-made structures are sometimes introduced to disrupt the flow of organic marks or interact and converge to create a kind of hybrid form. I work with the canvas in a spontaneous manner until I feel I have achieved a satisfying interaction of elements, connecting and disconnecting passages and rhythms that emulate the subtle energy of life.
I hope you enjoy viewing my work and thank you for visiting!
Annette