INSIGHTbirdlife;traditionalvillages;friendly
(andapparentlyhappy)people.
I drewandpaintedpassionately,
importingallmymaterialsfrom
overseas;andI exhibitedregularly.
I metmyhusbandMikethere.We
returnedtotheUKandendedupin
thebleakShetlandIslandsbefore
escapingto Australia.
Mike,myselfandourtwo
ex-RSPCAdogsnowliveinHumpty
Doo,a ruralareasouth-eastof
Darwin.Our‘block’is a stripof
openwoodlandrunningdowninto
a seasonalpaperbarkwetland.It
doesnotmatchtheSolomonsfor
sheerbeautybutI havelearnedto
appreciateit becauseI understand
thenorthAustralianbushbetter.It
changesdramaticallywiththecycle
ofthetropicalmonsoonclimate.If
I look,thereis alwayssomething
differentandremarkablegoingon;
somethingthatalmostdemandsmeto
paintit ...a flowerwhichwillonly
lasta coupleofhours;translucentnew
leaves;thepatternofgrassstems;the
changingcontoursoferosiongullies;
theflowoffloodwater.
I starteddrawingassoonasI
wasoldenoughtoholda crayon,
graduatingtomyfirstWinsor&
Newtonpaintboxat ageseven.My
mothertaughtmethebasicsof
watercolours.Thentherewasthe
wiseandpatientMissHardy,my
schoolartmistressat Oxford.Since
thattimeI havealwaysseizedany
opportunitytoimproveandlearn
andgrowartistically:Lifedrawing;
printmaking;painting;textiles;
whatever.
I wouldparticularlyliketo
acknowledgepasttutorsand
influences:JohnNewberryRWA;
TonySmibert(theinspirational
watercolouristinTasmania);Grace
Paleg(themasterpastellist);Robert
Walter;andmostrecentlyChristian
ClareRobertsonandJonathan
Bowden.WhenI addedupall
thetimeI musthavespentonart
coursesandworkshops,it cameto
over 500 hoursofdirecttuition– so
althoughI donothavea formalart
qualification,I feelI havepretty
wellearnedone!