- Feb 12, 2023
- 3 min read

Studio News - February 2023

It happens every time!

Do you feel it?

I'm looking at the diary and my calm and measured start to the year has gone out the window already, the next couple of months are looking busy with 'out there' happenings rather than creative studio time!

And with all these wonderful opportunities to share my work and connect with art lovers and collectors, comes no small amount of fear about how well my new work will be received by those who see and engage with it.

So I've been wondering about this and trying to understand where this fear comes from. I do what I do in the only way I know how and I do it with confidence and joy in the process and by embracing exploration and experimentation - that's my thing - throwing caution to the wind as I work. I'm not at all fearful in the making process but trepidation sets in when the work is finished.

Why?

Once I step away from the making process, reflection sets in and I start to question whether what I have created is successful......

Will the world beyond my studio embrace and enjoy what I've created?

But then I stop to think about it - I can't possibly answer this question.

Only you can, as the viewer.

All I can do now, as I stand back from the work, is commit to putting it out there for you to see. I've told my stories, followed the ebb and flow of concepts and ideas and responded to my chosen narrative in ways that have felt enriching and purposeful. I've worked with endeavour to bring my thoughts and responses to canvas and paper.

And with this new work, I'm really sharing just a brief glimpse of my current creative practice as I travel the the lifelong road of being an artist.

But you know me, already I have my eyes on the horizon and I'm thinking about where I go to from here........

Beach Access No.47 at Marcus Beach on the Sunshine Coast, has for me, over the past 20 years, become entwined with, and an integral part of, my life journey.

I have walked this particular track hundreds, if not thousands of times, finding it different each time from the last; in all weathers, at different times of the day and night, in various emotional states, on special occasions and celebratory days with family and friends, and sometimes alone to contemplate events and life happenings.

So much of my personal story seems held within the environmental surrounds of this pathway and the section of beach it leads to and I find that my emotional energy shifts each and every time I walk along it.

Having interpreted both visual and sensory aspects of the site from varying perspectives and through employing processes that have included drawing, collage, painting and printmaking, 'Portal' is my response to this place.

The broader landscape, small environmental details, textures, the interplay of light through the trees in the swale and an overall sense of the energy of this place have all been explored through these artworks.

View Portal Series

These paintings and prints will be on show and released for general sale at the upcoming 'Earthly Nuances' exhibition. Early purchase inquiries are welcome - please get in touch!

3 local Sunshine Coast artists explore personal connections to place and environment through clay, paint, mixed media and print; presenting a diverse collection of 2D and 3D work that considers themes of resonance, impression and impermanence. ‘

Earthly Nuances’ takes you on a journey from the hinterland to the sea capturing both broad landscapes and environmental details.

Conveyed through abstract visual language, imbued with colour, texture and form, the artists collectively present works that harness and describe both spontaneity and immediacy, through beautiful raku and saggar fired ceramics, and deeply distilled reflections on canvas and paper.