Sky Blue Zeb

My Zebra Paintings

On a visit to one of the wildlife reserves in South Africa I was drawn to the herds of zebra grazing near the roadside. Unlike other wild animals in the reserve they seemed unperturbed by our presence. They either continued grazing or stood still looking at us as if we were of equal interest as we were to them.

Once home in Australia, I really enjoyed painting from the photographs I had taken. The patterns of stripes on each zebra are unique just like the fingerprints of humans. The zebra in each of my zebra paintings is looking out as if wanting to engage with the viewer, thus forming a relationship with the viewer.

In these zebra paintings I have chosen just a single colour for the stripes to contrast against a white background forming a contrast in an abstract sort of way. I hope that you enjoy the zebra painting as much as I do!

In this portrait style painting of a zebra I have chosen just a single colour which is blue for the stripes. This contrasts against a plain white background. The zebra is looking out as if engaging with the art-viewer.

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Art has always played a major role in my life, initially and for many years, as a potter. I particularly enjoyed formulating and experimenting with my own glazes to achieve an interesting range of colour and textures. Then, a few years ago I switched to painting, initially with watercolour but I now chiefly work in oil. My work is experimental and I love working with pure colour, inspired by nature and the changes of the different seasons and time of the day. I love to be outdoors away from city-life, and being surrounded by nature is what recharges me.

When I need a break from the brush and paint I carve woodblocks used in colour printing - a technique known as Makuhanga (Japanese woodblock printing). Here too, it is the colour effects achieved by this process that inspire me.

I am influenced most by German Expressionism and French Post-impressionism, as well as Australian moderns such as John Olsen, Margaret Preston and Charles Blackman