Coastal Candles: Banksia Integrifolia

Australian natives provide me with endless inspiration. Their colour and texture, delicately yet robustly prevail and thrive against the odds, and bring beauty where you least expect it!
These 'Coastal Banksias' flourish in the windswept sea-sprayed coastlines right up to the mountains. Their blooms are like nothing else I've seen; their seed pods are equally unique and beautiful.

To express the coarseness of the environment alongside that of tree, leaves and blooms themselves, the base layer of this work has a heavily textured, course finish. This provided me with a lovely surface to depict the texture of this tree's trunk, leaves, blooms and seed pods with loose expressive brushstrokes. The artwork is not precisely botanical, rather more articulated in an energetic and interpretive sense. My goal was to successfully incorporate the nature of Coastal Banksias in more than a visual sense; also as a tactile metaphor for their strength and hardiness.

This piece is painted with professional artist quality paint, on professional grade linen stretched over quality frame, and finished with a light varnish for protection.
All edges are gallery wrapped, so artwork can hang without frame if desired.

In situ artwork scale is approximate.

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Di ‘s art draws on her intuitive creative soul, inspired by nature, and reflecting the uniquely Australian light and colour that have saturated her being. Di’s artistic spirit has been shaped by her idyllic childhood, growing up in rural north Queensland where freedom and promise abounded.
As is often the case, life detoured via work and family, yet creativity remained central to her core. In 2010 she reawakened this passion to create. With extensive learning and experimentation, Di’s skills have developed in both watercolours and acrylics. Her recent work is a uniquely contemporary fusion of the two media, with her statement pieces dynamic with an ethereal translucency, texture and depth.
Within a decade of dedication to her craft, Di has earnt the recognition of a respected artist with a strong following, and is honoured to have her work held in private collections across Australia and overseas.
Passionate about life, Di is a committee member of Art West Community Gallery, a group driven to find a creative community space for artists in the Western Suburbs of Brisbane, whilst still working as a physiotherapist at Mater Private Rehabilitation and maintaining a gorgeous and productive home garden.

"A country girl at heart, I revel in creatively that is not restricted by boundaries. I adore the freedom of semi-abstract work, the ability to respond innately to paint on the canvas, which intuitively evolves into a unique and personal creation. This freedom of self-expression allows me to celebrate my loves: our unique Australian light, colour and nature. "

A LITTLE NOTE:
Many of my works are professionally captured for high quality fine art reproductions. Please don't be discouraged if a piece is sold: just ask and I can quote on providing you with a fine art reproduction that looks just like the original. (limited Edition runs up to 100).
And the bonus is that you can (within reason) reproduce your piece of choice to a size that suits your home!

ART DEVELOPMENT
2010 – 2013 | Watercolours with Shirley Charlton
2014 | Watercolours with Maria Field
2014 | Gillian Rankin Botanical Art Classes
2015 | Introduction/Level 1 Oil Painting Marcel Desbiens
2015 | Brisbane Institute of Art Acrylic Techniques and Approaches Nameer Davis
2015 | Watercolours with Jan Lawnikanis
2016 | Watercolour workshop (WSQ) with Barry and Lucy McCann Workshop
2016 | Watercolour workshop (WSQ) with Paul Margocsy
2016 | Acrylics workshop (BPC) with Michael Cawdrey
2017 | Watercolour workshop (BPC) with John Lovett
2020 | Introduction to Encaustic with Jacqueline Archibald