Egret 2

Inspired by the quiet simplicity of Japanese art, this painting of an egret perching on the rails that border the jetty of the Moyne River in Port Fairy is a scene I've witnessed many times in various forms on my daily walk. Sometimes an egret, sometimes a cormorant, or a heron, or a tern, the birds take a break from wading or diving for fish to dry off, be still and observe. For me, the bird in this painting imparts a meditative or mindful stillness of its own.

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I am an artist and author who loves looking for the stories in life and in the world around me, and have spent most of my life telling stories through words and with paint. My novels, short fiction and non-fiction have been published in the United Kingdom and Australia. Several years ago, I decided to dedicate more time to art, and it's a decision I'm delighted I made because I find painting wonderfully absorbing and rewarding. Making a canvas or board spring to life with light and colour, shadows and highlights, is an amazing feeling, and having other people enjoy that work is even better!

Emigrating to Australia over 35 years ago, my first impressions were of the scale of the landscape and sky, the depth of the horizon, the brightness of the light, the vividness of colours and sharpness of contrast, but familiarity has in no way dulled this for me. On the contrary, painting helps me continue to learn to see these qualities in every day life; aspects of which I in turn try to capture in my work.