I was born in Newcastle and studied at the National Art School during the 1970s and went on to study with renown portrait painter Graeme Inson in Sydney in the early 1980s.
I have been painting since my early teens which makes it over fifty years and in this time have won over 40 awards in art exhibitions throughout NSW. I have exhibited in many highly regarded galleries over the years and have experienced good sales. I have had one man shows and group exhibitions with other artists in galleries in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Canberra and the USA .
Being a lover of nature and enjoying getting out and walking and soaking up the feeling of a particular location and then trying to capture the essence of a place in paint is intrinsically what my art is about.
My paintings have been influenced by earlier Australian painters such as the Heidleberg School and more contemporary landscape artists as well.
When choosing a subject to paint I think of it in simple terms of underlying abstract shapes that are then moulded and built upon to create an image that is treated in a painterly style. I believe the painting needs to be spontaneous and translucent and not laboured using complementary colour layers to build depth to these works. Simplification of the subject and not getting carried away with unnecessary detail and variety of brushwork help keep the work looking looser and less tight. The principal of less is more applies to my work and my style of painting.
My work ranges from human interest subjects to landscapes often showing the grand view. Most of my landscape work is done from oil sketches created outdoors and turned into larger works in the studio.
I have been painting professionally for more than 20 years and enjoy the challenge of painting different subjects and doing my own interpretation using colour and light as the most important component in each work related to accurate values.
Thank you for reading and viewing my work and hope you gain some enjoyment from the imagery presented here.
