Natives with Peppercorn 2019

Fine watercolour and acrylic painting on Canvas, Finished with a satin varnish, Framed in a Raw Oak box/floating frame.

Every now and then I stock up on Native flowers for my studio to paint. My intention is to keep the painting in the spirit of a sketch, using decisive marks and expressive line to capture the fleeting nature of cut flowers.

This painting (the largest botanical I have attempted so far) features a combination of shop bought flowers, and native greenery "Community pruned" from the street trees in my neighbourhood including King Protea, Banksia Baxteri, Firewood Banksia Pod, Banksia Baxter Pod, Leucadendron, Silver Dollar Eucalyptus and Peppercorn. This large statement painting would make a fantastic addition to the feature wall of your Australian home.

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I’ve been making art for most of my life, though the path here hasn’t been completely straightforward. What was meant to be a one-year trip from the UK to Sydney in 1994 somehow turned into a permanent move, and Australia has felt like home ever since.
A lot of my work begins outdoors; walking, noticing plants growing through fences, strange colour combinations in nature, or bringing home flowers and cuttings to paint in the studio. Painting has always been a way for me to slow down and pay attention. It’s where I feel most myself.
Before returning to painting full-time in 2015, I worked across surface pattern design, printmaking and graphic design, and those influences still shape the way I paint today; through colour, rhythm, line and composition. I’m also deeply inspired by the simplicity and spontaneity of Chinese and Japanese ink painting, calligraphy and woodblock prints, though my work has gradually evolved into something much looser and more contemporary over time.
Since returning to full-time practice, my work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Australia and selected as a finalist in prizes including the Calleen Art Award, Lethbridge Prize, Bluethumb Art Prize and the National Contemporary Watercolour Prize. My paintings and prints have also been licensed onto homewares and collected internationally.
I still feel genuinely grateful that I get to spend my days painting, and I hope that sense of joy, calm and curiosity finds its way into the work itself.