Blog

​The River House Commission was created in response to a unique setting—a home perched above the Noosa River, where water, light, and shifting reflections define the atmosphere of place. Each painting was conceived to echo the rhythms of the river, the riverbanks, and the passing watercraft. They offer a dialogue between the different energies of the river and the home itself.

I always feel totally clueless........ in the beginning. But it's really the best way to feel at the start of a painting. And for me, the only way to feel when I'm staring at a blank canvas.

Working on my Portal Series encouraged my fascination with swales and beach access tracks along the Sunshine Coast.  ​ The Boardwalk was inspired by these meeting places of land, sea, and sky; thresholds where movement, memory, and atmosphere converge. They are places of the 'in-between', with pathways that tempt us to hurry along, in pursuit of the expansive ocean vista, that we know awaits.

"What inspires you?" This is a question I'm preparing myself for, with this year's Noosa Open Studios nearly upon us! It's a question I ask myself on a daily basis. I could give you a hundred answers that include everything from sweeping landscapes and fallen leaves to emotional experiences and waste cardboard packaging. But that doesn't make me sound very focused.... which I admit sometimes feel I ought to be.

This series brought together my liminal approach to art making with more formal considerations of colour and shape. After completing my Portal Series in early 2023 I spent several weeks re-investigating the work I'd made, through sketch and collage, creating a 'Wall of Curiosities', filled with mini paintings, drawings, collages and visual experiments.

There's nothing like a little collage exercise to explore interesting textures, contrasts and compositions! Using leftover pieces from the gel prints I did for my Dusty Summer sketch I spent a happy couple of hours putting together there small A5 sized collages, to add to my 'Wall of Curiosities.' Working with collage always feels a little simplistic as it's one of the earliest art making methods we're introduced to as kids in school.