24 ArtistDrawingandInspiration
INSIGHTpaper – I prefer Arches or Stonehenge
at the moment – and canvas. My
range of tools has become extensive:
Ink pens with a variety of nibs have
always been part of my kit, along
with brushes ranging from extra-fine
sables to broad synthetics. I utilise
paint brushes with my drawings
as well as my paintings – an old
paintbrush can give a unique quality to
a graphite or charcoal shading. I also
make use of rags, tissues, blending
stumps and fingertips. Knives are
handy at times, as is sandpaper. The
most unusual tool I have ever had to
use was a .22 calibre bullet shell!
Disaster averted: I was nearing
completion of one of my intricate
ink compositions when the ink pen
blotted on the picture! I set the pen
aside and sat staring at the drawing
for a moment in disbelief and dismay.
Unable to accept that all that work had
gone down the drain, I began to seek a
solution to the problem. How to fix a
disaster of this magnitude? I needed a
bullet! Well, a bullet shell, at any rate.
I found one with exactly the rim-size
to fit the blot, sharpened its inner edgewith a thin round fine rasping file,
then placed it over the afflicted area
and bopped it firmly with a hammer. I
then cut a circle from the edge of the
same paper and inserted it in the hole,
taping it from behind with adhesive.
Problem solved. I redrew the area
destroyed by the blot and the repair has
never been detected, though the picture
has hung in our house for 15 years!
I love working with people or
creatures from the imagination best
of all, but many other subjects inspire
and delight me. Native flowers and
birds are of particular interest to me,
as are musical instruments! I also
have a deep fondness for elephants.
I have entered community exhibitions
such as the Narrabri Arts and Crafts
Exhibition, the Currabubula Red
Cross Exhibition, Frost Over Barraba,
the Gunnedah Exhibition, and the
Archibald and Moran Prizes for
Portraiture in 2010 and 2011. I have
received many Highly Commended
awards and a couple of Second
places. The greatest thrill came last
year with the selection of my work
‘Thorneycroft: Minimalist Groove’ asa finalist for the esteemed Mortimer
prize for realism in portraiture. The
painting was one of a pair, which
I completed in 2011, portraits of
my good friends, the Armidale-
based guitar-duo, EphenStephen.
Much of my work hangs in the homes
of families that have commissioned
me. Recently Hunter New England
Health contacted me, along with
many of our local artists, asking for
artworks to hang in our new hospital
in Narrabri. This was an exciting
commission, for which I completed
three of my largest works, two in
acrylic paints and one in graphite. I
particularly enjoy the commissions
which involve drawing kids; capturing
the enthusiasm and lively curiosity of
children is pure joy! And chasing them
around with a camera is great fun too!
My artistic inspiration seems
to spring from everywhere and
anything. I could be looking at a
knot in a piece of wood and its
particular shape and blend of tones
will suggest a picture to me. Or
I could see a person’s expression
as they drive by me in their carJasmine a Study in Gumboots Millie in a Spin