Love and Luck

Tomorrow is Anzac Day and this year we will be honouring our fallen, but in different ways. I like to imagine gnarled old hands knitting away in these cottages by firelight for Tommy and Jack, far across the seas.......
“Soldier sad, on the sodden ground,
Sailor lad on the seas,
Can't you hear a little cricketty sound.
Stealing across on the breeze ?
It's the knitting needles singing their song,
As they twine the khaki or blue,
Thousands and thousands and thousands strong,
Tommy and Jack, for you,
Click-click-click !
How they dart and flick,
Flashing In the firelight to and fro !
Nor for purl and pain,
Round and round again,
Knitting love and luck in every row.
The busy hands may be rough or white,
The fingers gouty or slim,
The careful eyes may be youthfully bright,
Or they may be weary and dim,
Lady and workgirl, young and old,
They've all got one end in view,
Knitting warm comforts against the cold,
Tommy and Jack, for you.
Click-click-click !
How they dart and flick,
Flashing in the firelight to and fro !
Nor for purl and pain,
Round and round again,
Knitting love and luck in every row.
Knitting away by the midnight oil,
Knitting when day begins,
Lads, in the stress of your splendid toil
Can't you hear the song of the pins?
Clicketty click-through the wind and the foam,
It's telling the boys over there
That every woolly that comes from home
Brings a smile and a hope and a prayer,
Click-click-click !
How they dart and flick,
Flashing in the firelight to and fro !
Nor for purl and pain,
Round and round again,
Knitting love and luck in every row.

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“I do not paint the landscape. The sensation and experience of applying the inks, become the landscape.”
After many years of painting and drawing, I felt I could not express an emotional response to my vision using conventional methods and began experimenting with spirit based inks. Acid free, fast drying and translucent, they hum with a creative energy of their own. They are magical. I love colour, its subtlety, boldness, restfulness and cheekiness. These inks swirl and move of their own accord, but they need manipulation and control to reign in their playfulness and allow me to echo the soul and aura of the subject. Lately I have introduced a textured approach with acrylic paints for the foreground in my works, but have continued using the lovely swirly inky skies. My paintings evolve from my own reactions to the mood and nature of what I am endeavouring to convey. They capture spirit, movement and translate those impressions in a semi-abstract, expressionistic manner. Growing up in Brewarrina, my art has been influenced by many childhood memories of the harsh Australian Outback as well as my overseas travels. Sitting beside a campfire, mesmerised by violet heavens above; striding across purple heath covered English Moors;
blinded by the white starkness of the Antarctica or simply reading a book about Apothecary in my chair - all awaken a desire to translate those experiences into a tangible reflection of my memories. A song or piece of poetry can also inspire a painting, helping me represent the mood and nature of the subject.My studio has been hand hewn from the solid rock face on which my house is built. I actually descend though a trapdoor in the lounge room floor! I'm most creative in the early hours, working on 2-3 pieces at a time, listening to a 1950s station on my old radio. These paintings of mine, are a reflection of that endless quest to record the blessings of nature swirled around with a dram of whimsical romanticism.