Wrensday

When my now husband and I moved in to our first house together over a decade ago, some of the very first visitors we had was a pair of superb blue wrens - a little male and a little female.

Gosh. They were so cheeky! Little spherical bundles of sass! They used to peer in the windows, and tap on the glass, and chirp shrilly at you every time you went near their favourite plum tree, or the callistemon hedge where we assume they had their nest. They were lots of fun.

I painted this tribute to them after seeing the Van Gogh Alive exhibit, and being reminded of one of my favourite paintings of his, 'Cherry Blossoms'. I wanted to reflect the rich turquoise colour and sweeping foliage of that painting, but with my own 'Australian chinoiserie' twist to it by using gum blossoms instead.

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A lifelong Canberran, my work draws on multiple art media (acrylic, pastel, ink, charcoal) to create vivid depictions of the natural world. I am particularly fond of maximalist compositions that draw on classic chinoiserie themes, but with a modern twist applied.

Traversing the spectrum from deep abstract through to still life, I find inspiration in the little scenes of life - a glimpse of a landscape out of a window, a beautiful piece of ceramic, a flash of colourful feathers - which I carry forward in to my work. I draw heavily on memories of childhood and travel, and those little hoarded treasures and scenes that have stayed with me through the years.

Colour brings me joy, and I want to share that joy with everyone. I am particularly drawn to cool jewel-like colour palettes - viridian green, turquoise, ultramarine, deep rose - and I enjoy the energy that a flash of neon can bring to 'conventional' colour arrays. I am also increasingly exploring texture through palette knives and paint scrapers, and am particularly intrigued with the play of natural and unnatural light across rough and smooth surfaces.

My art is deeply linked to my mood and well-being. The variation in tone, subject, colour and technique is a litmus test for the mood I am trying to capture for myself (and others). My style can vary between bright stylised animals and birds, to moody minimalist landscapes depending on the day. My Temperate Rainforest series in particular can move across lots of different forms, but all are intended to capture memories and emotions associated with different representations of my favourite places in the world.

I have been curating my art for a number of years now, with mainly private commissions, but am now ready to open the doors beyond my inner circle.