Artist Statement: I am a self-taught artist who has painted for ever. Initially I worked in Gouache, then Acrylic and now Oils. Now the lack of tuition is less of an issue because I am happy exploring different types of paint and different painting styles. The images have become much more of a reflection of me than a reproduction of someone else’s style.
Work Description: Painting has always been there, from the early days of sibling rivalry with my brother to the dark days after my first husband’s death. Loosing myself in a picture has always been the way forward. A painting haunts you before you put brush to canvas, it nags away at the back of your mind demanding to be let out.
For many years I was the girl who went no-where and then suddenly I had the freedom to travel and see the world.
Initially solitude was a hard taskmaster but now, sitting in the open air completely absorbed in what I see has become a joy. The painting in this exhibition represents the joy of exploration and colour.
If someone had said to me 10 years ago that I would spend time in Australia I would have laughed, but then I met an Australian with a property in the Adelaide hills. We only visited once a year but these visits saw a massive rebirth in my painting. I discovered acrylic and the joy of painting in the open air.
This painting of Gum trees was carried at Easter last year. My last visit.
Sitting on the old bench outside the house at Flaxley I was consumed by the colour noise and movement of the Gum trees and the magpies that warble through their branches. This painting for me says it all.
