Uno at Mount Martha limited edition print on wood panel Artist Edit Ed. 1 of 100

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Please read this in a slightly posh, Scottish accent.

Here's the thing. Ask yourself why you wish to read this. What is it that you want to know and how will it influence your view of my art? I could tell you an old, (o.k. middle aged) predominantly self-taught dog CAN learn new tricks and has done in the last year from a very capable and patient mentor.
I might brag that I'm (yawn) #blessed to be living on the Gold Coast, Australia with my ever supportive handsome husband (but let's be honest, the Aussie sun is taking it's toll on all of us) and my wise but now a little challenging teenage daughter, Ponks. Not to mention my rescue Scaredy Dog who’s terrified of the wind, has an allergy to Sir Walter and a phobia of cats. Would these inconsequential facts sway you in any way?

Would it matter if I told you my torrid affair with Oils has blossomed into a stable marriage and I had to tell my Acrylics "It's me, not you."

You may be surprised to learn I now often listen to books instead of music when painting. Fair tickled me pink (or is it Quinacridone Rose) to realise my thirst for knowledge could be satiated while flogging the old canvas.

You might be absorbed in the story of exactly how I fell into painting twelve years ago but really, would that change what appeals to you in my work?

You probably do want to know what drives me though? I'll tell you, even if you don't. Connection. Connection always breeds compassion, and we can all, always do with a little more of that. But here's the strange thing (not really if you know me). I often highlight connection through painting the opposite. I believe the viewer can see more clearly the need for it if I portray it's absence. Let me explain. My latest body of work focuses on the eight different types of intelligence and the need to overhaul the global education system. Our current system was originally devised to serve the Industrial Revolution and now, many believe, it's disconnected. Why can't we connect with our children and discover their strengths at the outset of their life journey, tailoring their education based on their innate intelligences? Surely the product of this would be that future generations thrive, fulfilled and content because they've chosen the correct careers based on their strengths, passions and interests? Is it a dream of pipes? Maybe.

Anyway, now you know all that, does it change the way you see my art? My point is or rather my question is, does any of the above matter? Are you the kind of person who buys art based on what others think, past performance, how cool the artist appears to be, if it has the right blue in it or the artist's credentials back up what you feel might be good work? Or do you buy art because you like it's message or simply, the look of it? If you are any of these or none of these it is of no consequence. What matters, I think, is do you love what you see? Do you like my work? Does it make you happy? Does it make YOU happy? Even the creepy guy who buys the saddest, darkest piece of art possibly imagined is happy when he hands over his dosh is he not? If my art does make you happy then I'm sincerely humbled and the creative right hemisphere of my brain is gleefully jumping up and down on it's tiny neuron legs.

I thank you sincerely for reading. You may also want to know, I cannot drink out of dark blue mugs and have a small scar which looks like a slug.