Magpie Lookout

Australian Magpie at dusk looking out across a valley, can you hear him carolling before he takes flight?
My intention is to keep my paintings in the spirit of a sketch, to capture the energy and unpredictability of nature within a flat painting.

This large statement painting features both Intuitive, audacious paint application followed by many hours of careful intricate precise mark making. I relish the tension and contradiction of these competing factors within the work. Patterning inspired by Japanese ornament creates a sense of movement within the landscape.

© Copyright Watermark: You may notice a very faint © Copyright watermark across the first image. This only appears on my main digital file to protect my artwork from being downloaded and reproduced without my permission (it happens unfortunately).

I do try to make them as discreet as possible so as not to upset your delicate eye area. I promise your painting or print will not have a visible watermark all over it. I do include several cropped in shots of my work without a watermark in the gallery so you can clearly see the works close up.

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I’ve been making art for most of my life, though the path here hasn’t been completely straightforward. What was meant to be a one-year trip from the UK to Sydney in 1994 somehow turned into a permanent move, and Australia has felt like home ever since.
A lot of my work begins outdoors; walking, noticing plants growing through fences, strange colour combinations in nature, or bringing home flowers and cuttings to paint in the studio. Painting has always been a way for me to slow down and pay attention. It’s where I feel most myself.
Before returning to painting full-time in 2015, I worked across surface pattern design, printmaking and graphic design, and those influences still shape the way I paint today; through colour, rhythm, line and composition. I’m also deeply inspired by the simplicity and spontaneity of Chinese and Japanese ink painting, calligraphy and woodblock prints, though my work has gradually evolved into something much looser and more contemporary over time.
Since returning to full-time practice, my work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Australia and selected as a finalist in prizes including the Calleen Art Award, Lethbridge Prize, Bluethumb Art Prize and the National Contemporary Watercolour Prize. My paintings and prints have also been licensed onto homewares and collected internationally.
I still feel genuinely grateful that I get to spend my days painting, and I hope that sense of joy, calm and curiosity finds its way into the work itself.