| Born and brought up
in the UK, I studied art in London and the south coast of England. Leaving the UK in 1992 to travel I finally settled in Hong Kong in 1994 where I spent 8 years living and working as a professional artist. Trained as an illustrator I produced artwork for many of the regions leading publications, and moved into murals also. Many of my murals can be seen around Hong Kong as well as in Singapore. The big move to Australia happened in 2002 and I chose Bundeena as my home soon after my arrival . Since then I have worked solely by commission for publications here and for councils producing community murals. As an illustrator my job involves producing artwork to explain and accompany text. Often my illustrations are to compliment an article in a magazine where a photo doesn't say enough. I am passionate about creating images that can convey an idea and to make the artwork as powerful or more powerful than the words that inspired it. There is nothing better than creating an artwork that speaks to the viewer, has a message, conveys a whole concept, all without saying a word. This visual language is also included in my murals ,to denote the passing of time, an emotion, a social message, a belief. Creating community murals means I get to take art to those who would never walk into a gallery. I want to demystify art for them and for everyone, to take away the pretentions. Put a paint brush in someone's hands and you might get their whole life story. Art can make the aggressive - calm, the misunderstood - express themselves, the insecure - confident. It never ceases to amaze me. The nature of my work means I have rarely, until now, painted artworks just for myself and drawing on my own inspirations. I love playing with colour and form. I am interested in painting much more of an emotional response to what I see rather than a true depiction of reality. Because of my illustrative background my work is often inspired by words whether they be in a song, a poem, a story or just from a conversation. Living in Bundeena its hard not to be inspired its beauty. This country has taught me to love its trees and its birds, something, until my arrival, I rarely even noticed let alone appreciated. For a girl from the UK I don't think I will ever been unexcited about seeing a bright red bird outside my window. |
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yabbies for lunch
acryliic on canvas
91cm x 121cm
the shower room at kempsey
acryllic on canvas
60cm x 60cm
my tree friends
acryllic on canvas,
12cm x 18cm
Images in portrait banner
left: gday sam
selected portraits of the
people of gulargambone
each 10cm x 10cm
centre sam infront of
section of dapto
ribbonwood centre mural
32m x 2m
right: the procession
acrylic on canvas
41cm x 121cm