Wave 6 Ed. 1 of 20

In June 2022, Emma and I stayed at Bangalay Villas right on Shoalhaven Heads beach, a ten minute drive from Berry on the NSW south coast. We'd arrived mid-afternoon, and went for a beach walk. It was beautiful winter's day, sun low in the sky, with a strong breeze. We had no idea how windy it would get later that night, really blowing a gale. But at the time of our walk, it was hard to believe we were only two hours from the Sydney CBD.

I find surf rolling in to the seashore mesmerising for its endless variations of tone, hue, texture, reflection and formation. On this afternoon at Shoalhaven Heads beach, the sea was not huge, but the wave sets were busy, whipped in opposing directions by the wind and sliding up the shore in complex lines and intersections. I really felt the impulse to capture this!

All my art is hand-painted and drawn to a blank page. These are not photographs. Fleeting moments in the natural and man-made world, across skies and screens, seas and city streets inspire my digital brushes, pencils, crayons, pens and erasers.

Please note: I am selling my digital paintings as PRINT ONLY. It is a 'print to order' arrangement.

As I do not keep stock ready to ship, please allow up to TEN (10) WORKING DAYS for delivery to you.

I recommend printing my artworks to stretched canvas - however, please let me know if you would prefer they be printed to an alternative material.

For framing, I recommend you use Bluethumb's framing services, your own preferred provider or www.frameshop.com.au

I have listed the size as approximately A0 because in my opinion, my work looks better as large possible for the resolution I work in, which is 7,425 x 5400 at 300 dpi.

I recommend two sizes of prints for my work, the displayed size of 118.9cm W x 86.5cm H (approx. A0) or the smaller size of 84.1cm x 61.2cm (approx. A1). I use www.frameshop.com.au for the canvas prints.

Frame depth (4.5cm) is provided from the preview at www.frameshop.com.au. I have estimated a framed weight of 7.2 kg for the A0 print, assuming it will be twice the weight of a framed A1 canvas I have at home (framed by Frameshop) which weighs 3.6 kg.

If you are interested in the smaller size (approx. A1) the price will be approx $1,150, to be confirmed with Bluethumb at the time of purchase.

I think the inspiration for this painting was about colours and patterns - rich green-tinged dark blues with sandy ochres visible through the shallower waters closer to the shore. The wave patterns were intricate and compelling as an artist's subject!

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Growing up in the inner-city suburbs of Sydney, I was good at art at school. But from my late teens on, I focused on other things; some creative, some the demands of career and lifestyle.
Half a century later, as my mother Pam predicted before we lost her in 2020, I’ve taken it up again with renewed passion.

Only a few years ago, there’s no way in the world I could have imagined myself drawing and painting again, and especially the way I do it now. The Apple Pencil and a big iPad changed all that (after a bit of a learning curve!). Sand and sea, water and skies, clouds, silhouettes and shadows call out to me, my brush and blank canvas. It’s like learning to see all over again.

My work is not photographic. I do not import photographs into or on to my canvas or manipulate photographs in any way. I paint and draw to a blank canvas, entirely by eye, looking at snapshots on my mobile phone as a guide. In a sense, it is flattering for my images to be sometimes mistaken for photographs, but I would prefer to have my work appreciated for what it is - digital painting, which should be valued for its skill of rendition, the same as any other artist working in natural media.

I have come to understand that the bigger my canvases are, the more obvious it is that they are paintings not photographs. It is wonderful that high resolution hand-painted digital images can be turned into large framed paintings - A1 or bigger in size.

To be honest, I’d love to get out there with a fold-up chair, easel, turps, sable hair brushes and wooden palettes (the messier the better!). But my lifestyle doesn’t allow it. If I see something, then - courtesy of my mobile phone’s camera - click, I have my subject. When I’m ready, it’s there.

For me, the main thing is feeling the pencil as it scores a line, or becomes an airbrush varying in thickness as I increase or reduce pressure; or watching and sensing how different brush shapes add, erase or smudge differently.

Yes the revelation is the sensation - the feel, the tactile joy of drawing and painting.