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Amidst a festive flurry of activity I wonder to myself.....am I making progress? That pesky little signpost called 'productivity' usually pops up in my mind when I ask myself this question. What do I actually have to show for my time in the studio this week? How many paintings have I started or finished?

'The Visitors' is my visual response to the profound physical and energetic impressions left by the diverse array of people who came to my studio in October 2021, as part of the Noosa Open Studios art trail.

This body of work evolved from a series of process-driven sketches on paper using a limited colour palette, creating a visual dialogue between positive and negative space within each piece. This series was intended as a brief exploratory journey, away from working on large canvas panels and on a more intimate scale through which I could move quickly capturing many ideas and compositional designs in a relatively short space of time.

This piece was a challenge as I wanted to explore working on a smaller scale. My usual preference for canvas size is twice the size of this piece. I find larger work more engaging physically which creates a momentum and energy of its own. 'Inhabit' has a stillness about it which I think was dictated by the need to remain physically still in order to focus and apply paint in a controlled way.

Disruption is an inevitable part of being human. We experience it in the sudden shifts that alter the rhythm of our lives — moments when what once felt certain begins to fracture or change shape. Themes of disturbance are made tangible and visible in this series of paintings as the application of the paint itself and the varied compositions mirror the interruptions we face in our own life journeys.

In this series, landscapes are not just places—they are experiences, reflections of the inner terrain we navigate every day. Colour and form play alongside each other like memory and feeling, inviting you to step into spaces that are at once intimate and vast. Each painting pulses with emotion. Bold colours, strong compositions with unique narratives become hills and valleys, skies and horizons, which in turn become metaphors for our emotional journeys.