The Great Voyage

The Great Voyage is an abstract mixed media painting that incorporates multiple layers and evokes a sense of other worldly travel to strange lands.

The process is a series of layers, beginning with highly experimental gestural marks using paint, pencil, oil pastels and charcoal in vivid colours, with further layers that refine and balance the piece using value and colour, and where the piece begins to define itself. After adding layers, I scratch back through the paint to increase the looseness of the piece, defining lines and uncovering what lays beneath.

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A contemporary abstract artist based in South Australia, I experiment with materials and techniques, creating dynamic compositions that capture energy and movement through color and texture.

Starting my process with a general idea or feeling, the painting evolves naturally as I work. The creative practice is a vehicle where I discover and express emotions without inhibition, which results in highly expressive work, often rich with metaphor.

My work is designed to evoke emotion and encourage the viewer to interpret it in their own way. Whether it’s a burst of energy or a sense of calm, I hope my paintings inspire a connection.

Heavily textured, my work has thick layers of paint applied in a way that creates an almost sculptural sense of depth and dimensionality. I use a variety of techniques to achieve these textures, including expressive gestural marks applied using paint, pencil, oil pastels and charcoal, then painting and scratching using various hardware tools to bring texture into the piece and to retain a loose and vibrant energy. Uncovering hidden layers and colours through this approach often brings unexpected surprises. The combination of gestural marks, layers of paint, and scratching gives the work an almost sculptural, tactile texture, depth, and history that is very appealing.

Born in Canada to American parents, I currently live, and was mostly raised in South Australia, with a couple of formative years spent with family in Hawaii. A quiet child, I sought solace in creative endeavours, and used my visual language to process the world around me. I still do. As a child, I spent hours drawing and reading, and some time studying at the Honolulu Academy of Art during my time there.

As a young adult back in South Australia, I attended the Hyde Park School of Art & Design, the Adelaide Central School of Art, and studied multimedia and media production at UniSA.

After a varied work history, which includes over 20 years in various aspects of Digital Communications, and raising a son with my partner, I have returned to my first love – Art – and couldn’t be happier.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.