Out from Between

Out From Between is inspired by a giant blue sky and ancient rocks in Central Australia. The viewer is standing in an area of darken rock and looking out to rugged ochre and blue. It would be a hard climb to get to the top of that ochre ridge to see what's there, but a climb well worth the effort. One where you could get to the top, open your arms, and say "I made it - from here I can see far beyond". Resilience is also something I wanted to convey. The resilience of plants to grow in such inhospitable environment. The viewer may relate to the resilience they themselves need in their own lives. When we were travelling amongst these ancient rocks we gained a sense of creatures long ago living in these areas. In the painting, the bottom dark rock as I was painting it appeared to me, without intention, to remind me of a close up of a dinosaur foot. When it appeared, it perfectly matched in with the feeling of this place and I left it as it is.

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I am a Sunshine Coast artist. Creating art was sparked by attending a silk painting class some years ago. This initial interest sparked a passion. Living in North Queensland at the time, I attended art classes through TAFE and with local artists. Portraiture (in graphite, charcoal and pastel), and landscapes (in oil) became favourites. I won a couple of local art competitions and began selling a number of pieces. Moving to the Sunshine Coast in 2010, I joined the Buderim Craft Cottage Mixed Media group. I have undertaken a number of workshops with local artists and exhibited in a variety of places.

Now my work is mostly acrylic with some mixed media. This medium allows me more freedom of expression and I utilise fingers, brushes, handmade stamps, washes, palette knife, and a variety of odd objects, to place and move the paint over the canvas. It is a forgiving medium that allows the painting to change and develop to a place where I want it to be.

I mostly centre on nature and may depict man-made subjects to accompany the natural aspects. I find a connection to a mental space. In each of my paintings I work on a feeling and search for a mental ‘place to be’. This may be an imaginary place but it encourages both free spirit and groundedness. My work often begins with abstract feeling and then representational objects form as the piece progresses. I love the use of colour, either bold or pastel, and seeing the effect that a change of colour can have on a specific area in the painting or in the overall mood of a painting.

Collections:
My artwork is in private collections in Townsville, Ayr, Home Hill, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast