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Biography |
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Statement |
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“The true realism, always and everywhere, is that of the poets; to find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing.” - R. L. Stevenson Working with people with visual impairment has given me a richer understanding of the sensory experience of the natural world. Working with the Eden Project in the UK in the areas of disability and environmental access has allowed me first-hand experience of how contact with nature helps us recover from injury and illness and how it benefits our general wellbeing. My work brings some of the benefits of contact with nature indoors. It interprets the colours, rhythms, patterns and textures through marks on the canvas in order to distil something from nature, something that cannot be articulated through the construct of language. My paintings are landscapes, yet they are also the results of a dialogue with my irrational, emotive subconscious mediated through contact with places in the natural world. The devastation wrought by the recent bushfires in Victoria leaves us with a profound sense of loss: not only of lives and property but also loss of our landscape. Even if we live in a city, a large part of our identity, both personal and cultural, is held in the landscape that we live in. To have that suddenly and violently taken away from us leaves us with feelings akin to a profound home sickness. We haven’t moved, and yet for many of us the landscape that was our home has disappeared, altered beyond recognition. My current work explores both the hot, dry hillsides of the Tarrangower area and the cool, lush rainforests of the Otways. The contrasting images celebrate the beauty and diversity of Victoria’s landscape at a time when many of us are taking stock of where we are and who we are. Matisse once said that he hoped his paintings would have the effect of a “good armchair on a tired businessman”. My work has a similar aim. It doesn’t set out to change the world, but it may help us to reconnect to the world as it is. |
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Training |
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| 1985 |
Graduated BA hons in Drawing and Painting Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, Scotland |
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Selected solo and group exhibitions |
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2009 |
Penny
School Gallery, Maldon. Solo exhibition.
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Selected open and juried exhibitions |
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| 1985-2010 |
Space 22 Ballarat, St Ives Society of Artists, Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), Scottish Society of Artists (SSA), the Society of Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen (SSAAC), Paisley Art Institute Drawing Competition and the Greenock Art Biennial. |
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Awards |
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2006 |
Landscape Institute Landscape Policy Award |
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Collections |
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Represented in public, corporate and private collections in the UK, US, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. |
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Notable commissions |
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2006 |
Book illustrations for Two
Blades of Grass by Peter
Thoday. |
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Writing |
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2007 |
“Equality of Experience: Inclusive
Design of Public Open Space”. Paper for the
2nd International Conference for Universal Design, Kyoto, Japan.
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Other projects |
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Working to develop accessible information
and improve the quality of visitor experience for people with disabilities. www.edenproject.com |
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Bibliography |
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Drawn from Experience, Ian Thwaites & Rie Fletcher,
Puriri Press, Auckland, 2007 |
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