Wildlife/Landscape Artist - Illustrator - Commissions
I grew up in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, on a rural property surrounded by bushland and wildlife. As a result, I have always been fascinated by nature and colours and am constantly inspired and awestruck by the array and ever-changing beauty of our Earths natural landscapes.
My first painting was at the age of nine, when I was inspired after camping on a property at Birdwood, west of Wauchope, NSW. This was the first time that I had experienced the desire to capture what I saw on paper. Throughout my school life I continued to do art. In my final year at school, for my major artwork, I painted a scene from personal experience, based on my family and one of my favourite places, Barrington Tops. This was a series of three paintings of the Barrington Tops rainforest and the Allyn River.
After completing a degree in Environmental Science and working fulltime in science-related positions, I was then able to pursue my passion of illustration and enrolled into Natural History Illustration (Honours) at the University of Newcastle. I received a Class 1 Honours for my thesis and major artworks which were based on studies of the home garden environment and its beneficial garden critters. I chose twelve beneficial garden critters and completed illustrations using graphite, pen, ink, acrylic, and watercolour. I also compiled fact sheets, a children's book and have created a Beneficial Garden Critter website, all of which can be accessed through the Natural History Illustration pages.
I then continued on to a Masters in Philosophy (Natural History Illustration) at the University of Newcastle and studied the effect of light on the natural world, titled ‘From Sea to Snow: Illustrating the Effect of Light and Colour on the Natural World, A Visual Interpretation’. The exegesis focuses on the historical, modern and cultural uses of light in artworks, and my artworks focus on the effect of light on five environments; coastal, grassland, woodland, forest and alpine.
I am now represented by the Aarwun Gallery in Gold Creek (ACT).; Traffic Jam Galleris, Sydney (NSW); Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral (NSW), and the Watershed Gallery in Pokolbin (NSW).
