Verdant Valley

Artist Statement

“I am a contemporary painter based in Sydney working mostly with landscapes, but my abstractions also evoke glimpses of a landscape. I work with mixed media, being combinations of acrylic paint, ink, charcoal, bitumen, shellac and encaustic wax. I use these mediums to create textured images of rugged terrains, vast open spaces and coastlines gleaned from recent and distant memory. At times I feel a certainty for what I wish to achieve before I begin and other times I just let the image talk to me as it unfolds. ​

Nature, open spaces, rambling terrains and coastal areas are my inspiration, whilst I like to suggest solitude or isolation. I am constantly inspired by the untamed beauty of nature. I like to push the limits of imagination and I believe I leave a little of myself in all my work.

I make small sketchbook studies of nature as well as my feelings about the landscape and then return to the studio where I work them into semi-abstract images. Layers are built up gradually on the surface of each canvas or paper. I focus on capturing the energy and the spirit of the landscape. A gradual building of stratums often reveals something unexplained that evolves from within.

My work can suggest a meaning that may differ between viewers. My work being mostly devoid of human representation is a statement or a call for humanity to recognise the vast and dramatic natural world in which we, albeit small and insignificant, are the curators.”