Yellow Tailed Grey Cockatoo, Frangipani and Ferns Ed. 17 of 50

This Limited Edition (of 50) Giclée Print(s) has been printed onto thick textured cotton rag paper using archival inks by a specialist fine art reproduction printing house. This work is sold unframed. Framing is available upon request, please use the enquire button if you would like to purchase the print professionally framed. Note framing turn around times are approximately 2-3 weeks.

About the artwork:
This handsome Cockatoo is perched on a frangipani tree from my garden. At the end of last summer I snapped off a piece of frangipani from my tree and popped it in a big vase. It lasted for most of the winter on my dining table and made me feel summery even when it was grey and miserable outside.

I took plenty of sketches from my 'specimen' and you will see it featured quite a bit in my work from the past year. For this piece I've used a combination of grey, greens and blues with a touch of yellow on the cockatoo tail and cheeks. I like to paint with Chinese calligraphy brushes, varying the paint consistency from thick and opaque to a watery wash which results in lovely random watermarks on the work. Cockatoos feature lots in my work, because they are so awesome. We often hear large flocks of them circling the skies above our house at dusk and screeching, we always stop what we're doing to go outside and marvel at them, it's such a treat since we live in the inner city.

Purchase of this artwork does not include reproduction rights. Artwork cannot be copied or used without the artist’s prior permission.

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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.