Wattle on Pink

Every winter I find myself paying attention to the wattles. Once the first flowers appear, it seems that every drive, walk or bike ride becomes an opportunity to spot another variety in bloom.

I always look forward to wattle season.

Using oil paint, texture and colour, I explored the bright yellow blooms, warm amber glass and turquoise tabletop against a pink background. I was interested in the relationship between these colours and shapes, and the sense of warmth and happiness that wattle brings during winter.

This painting is my interpretation of that experience and a reminder of one of my favourite signs of the changing season.

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Jess is a Geelong-based artist whose creative practice has been a constant throughout her life, from childhood through to today.

In 2022, she formally studied Visual Arts, deepening a lifelong instinct to create.
While much of her adult life was spent as a high-performing athlete, art was never set aside; it continued to evolve alongside her.

Jess paints to explore not just a subject, but the experience of it.
The way it felt, and how it shifts as it is reimagined through texture, movement and mark.
Each piece is less about capturing something as it was, and more about allowing it to evolve into something new.

“I’m not drawn to a place or a thing. It’s a feeling. Something that stays with me long enough that I know I need to paint it, even if I don’t fully understand it yet.”

Her memoir, Why Not Me? A Lifelong Journey of 1%’ers & Becoming a World Champion is one part of a broader life shaped by discipline, curiosity and creative expression.