Painting is my way to find my “happy place” and colour is a way to express and celebrate the colours of my soul. By using bright and vivid colours and intricate dot work style, the artwork I create becomes a direct expression of my experience of life. I tend to focus on the more uplifting and beautiful aspects of this world because I think there is already enough darkness. This mindset helps me keep alert, in the moment and I try to see the positive aspect in any situation.
My artwork is directly influenced by my life and what surrounds me. Nature, the seasons, the animals that cross my path, my travels and of course any mythology/symbolism that I am interested in are expressed through my artwork. I like to create paintings based on either scenes I’ve had or witnessed or a feeling that I want to express through image. I keep sketchbooks of quick scribbles, a folder with colour combinations that I love and scrapbooks of images that capture my imagination. I use these as reference points when creating a painting.
Acrylic has become my material of choice because I just love how rich and thick in texture it is. It allows me to create my dot work thick and tactile while drying quickly. I am a fast worker, I have so many different stories to tell, that I need this medium to keep up with the flow of my ideas.
Many believe that because I am Australia and use dots in my artwork that I am directly and only influenced by Aboriginal artwork. In fact my dot work emerged through my love of using stippling as a way of shading while drawing with pen. I then wanted to integrate it into painting and dots have become my technique of showing light and dark, pattern and texture. I also find creating dots a very peaceful and meditative activity so it comes naturally to me to use this technique.
For the future I hope to get more into illustrating and even creating a children’s book. I also plan to exhibit more in public, especially solo, as I have been working predominantly online the last few years.