Blog

Tranquil green spaces in cities seem exceptionally restorative, perhaps because they are so closely juxtaposed with the built environment, heightening the differences between the two. Public gardens and parklands have so much to offer the wandering artist! Texture, colour, contrast, light and shade all dynamically applied in the real world, far from the easel and the confines of the studio. These beautifully planned and tended places offer journeys and breathing space.

Welcome to the first edition of autumn! I'm not sure if we really had a summer to speak of, it was so wet and wild day after day. Enjoy this month's Studio News, feel free to share with friends and family!

My paintings always reach a point where I need to let them sit for a while. I prop them up on the easel or hang them on the wall and distance myself from the making of them and reduce my interaction with them so that in effect I become nothing more than a passerby. It's in these moments that my focus becomes less intense and I can find myself feeling a bit adrift, no longer anchored physically and cognitively by that artwork.

What a lovely surprise! My painting Rustlers has been selected as a finalist in the Caloundra Regional Gallery's Local Artists - Local Content Art Prize 2022. This is the first year I've entered an artwork in this competition run by the friends of the gallery.

What happens when we allow ourselves to be truly curious in the studio? What if we think about our art process as a way to ask questions rather than a way of creating answers? If we approach our art making with curiosity as our reason for doing it, does it change the way we think about the resulting artwork? Is it more or less valid?

It's always very satisfying to complete a body of work, even more so to present new paintings against a lovely white background, without the chaos of the studio threatening to overwhelm them! It's often the first chance I get to view the work objectively.