Background
For the past eighteen years I have lived in Bundanoon, NSW on rural acreage adjoining The Morton National Park, where the environment and our large parkland garden have been a continual source of inspiration. Hopefully, by looking at my paintings the viewer may also relate to the vast horizons, clouds, mists, light effects, and the dynamic forces of nature, thus providing a further insight into his/her world, feelings and memories. If this happens, then as an artist, I have achieved some meaning and value in my painting.
As an art student at RMIT I was influenced by Abstract Expressionism which was a mid 20th-Century art movement primarily in New York. The artists of this movement expressed themselves through their emotions and attitudes, rather than traditional means, often using spontaneous abstract gestures on large canvasses. So it was this sense of freedom and spontaneity that formed my painting 'style'. I aim to express a feeling rather than a narrative, so by using the art elements and principles, such as; colour, texture, movement, space and size as the 'subject matter' the work becomes open to individual interpretation.
There are two questions I ask myself when I have completed a painting: does it say something about my world, and does the brush-work or paint application have sufficient interest and integrity to be small abstract paintings in their own right? If the answer is "yes" to both questions I have achieved some sense of 'truth' in my work.
Academic Qualifications:
Bachelor of Fine Arts, RMIT, Melbourne (Major in Painting, Minor in Printmaking)
Graduate Diploma of Education, University of Canberra
Master Teacher Award, Stirling College, Canberra
Teaching Resume:
1979 - 1995
Visual Arts Teacher, Stirling College, Canberra
Master Teacher, Visual Arts, Stirling College, Canberra
Executive Teacher, Arts, Design and Hospitality, Stirling College, Canberra
Executive Officer, Schools Directorate, Department of Education, Canberra
Executive Teacher, Creative Arts, Public Relations, Canberra College
Artist Resume:
Exhibitions:
1979 - 1985 Group Exhibitions, Canberra
1996 Solander Gallery, Canberra, Solo
1997 Spiral Arm Gallery, Canberra, Solo
1999 Michael Comerford Gallery, Sydney
2002 Berrima District Gallery, Bowral
2006 Bell Gallery, Berrima
2007 The Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral, Solo
2008 The Nude In The Gallery, Bowral
2009 Recent Works Artdeli, Bowral
2011 Art Trail, Southern Highlands
2012 Art Trail, Southern High;ands
2014 Beauty and Loss, Bowral Art Society, Bowral (with Reg Livermore)
2017 Where Are They Now? The Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral
Representations:
2011 Muswellbrook Art Prize, finalist
2011 Calleen Award, Cowra, finalist
2011 Blake Prize, finalist
2013 Canberra Centenary Scope Exhibition
2013 Calleen Award, Cowra, finalist
Commissions:
Southern Highlands, Sydney, Canberra, Victoria, USA