Superb Sunset lyrebird

This original painting celebrates the flamboyant elegance of one of Australia’s most extraordinary birds—the Superb Lyrebird. Rendered in vibrant gouache and ink, the work captures the bird mid-display, perched in a stylised landscape of bold botanical forms and sweeping feather plumes. The rich blues and lush teals of the foliage contrast with the warm, glowing sky, evoking the dusky magic of sunset in the Australian bush.

This piece belongs to my ongoing exploration of native wildlife through a decorative lens. I am fascinated by the tension between representation and stylisation, drawing on traditional natural history illustration while allowing intuitive mark-making and rhythmic pattern to guide the composition. The result is a poetic homage to the splendour of the natural world—both real and imagined.

This work is painted onto very thick 650gsm watercolour paper and will be shipped flat between two sheets of thick cardboard (the paper is too thick to roll). If you would like to receive this work already framed, please select the framing option when you check out.

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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.