58 ArtistDrawingandInspiration
INSIGHTI mainly use pastels or watercolours;
sometimes combined. I love the surprises
that come with the mixing of wet pigments
in transparent watercolours. My mediums
are also portable for travel and relatively
easy to store. Pastels, however, are certainly
easier to control; are much more tolerant of
changing humidity; and can even survive
being rained on.
I paint as much as I can outdoors, to
combine art with my love of the Australian
bush and its fauna and flora. I like my
animals and plants to be quietly part of my
landscapes but not photo-realistic portraits.
What is the work I am most proud of?
I would say it is the ‘ABC’ of Northern
Territory threatened species which won
me the People’s Choice award in the first
Threatened Species Network Art Show in
the Northern Territory. It is by no means
my best art work; nor was it sufficiently
realistic to please the scientists ... but I
judge it a success because it might have
engaged a few more people to stop and
think about how fast we are losing our
wildlife – particularly our curious and
charming native mammals. Another work,
a small oil painting of some rock wallabies
and Livistona Inermis palms, painted
from a sketch done while bushwalking
in Kakadu, won me a ‘Show Champion’
rosette in the Royal Darwin Agricultural
Show one year. I still have mixed feelings
of disappointment and relief at not
being required to parade with real show
champions – the Droughtmaster bulls,
Nubian goats and polocrosse horses.
Paintings are clearly on a level with the
poultry, jams and oversized vegetables.
I see myself as a professional artist,
but I still hold down a rather demanding
full-time job. It is good to have financial
security and the freedom to paint only what
I want while not having to worry about
whether the next exhibition will be a sell-
out. It also keeps both sides of the brain
occupied and makes me use those precious
painting hours very intensively. However,
I will not pretend that I aspire to a better
work/painting balance in my life! I am very
lucky to have a supportive husband who is
also a good and willing cook.
I am unashamedly influenced by
English art and see myself as continuing
this tradition. Of Australian artists, I
particularly admire the work of Fred
Williams and John Olsen. But it would