several of my works over the past three
years to use as awards to present to
people who have excelled at water
conservation activities. The Shire
of Mitchell has used my images for
postcards of the local area. I have been
involved in several successful exhibitions,
and I have a number of private clients
who regularly purchase my work.
I particularly admire Janet
Cumbrae-Stewart. I have never
seen pastel work to equal hers. I
love the works of Streeton, and I
recently attended an exhibition of
McCubbin’s astonishing works at
the Bendigo Gallery. Tom Roberts,
McCubbin, Streeton and Hans
Heysen really opened the public’s
eyes to the beauty of Australia. I
also love the work of Michael Jones- a Queensland artist who does
fantastic depictions of Australian
subjects. The list is endless, really.
I have little ‘rituals’ when I start a
new painting in the studio. I spend
quite a long time just thinking about it
and picking out some music. I set up
my easel with the paper on the board
(usually Colourfix Burgundy). I don’t
waste a thing with my pastels. When
they get too small to hold in my fingers,
I pop them into relevant jars of similar
colours, and when I have enough I
have a ‘pastel making day’. It’s like
being a kid again and making mud
pies. Great fun! I crush the old pastels
with a pestle and mortar, add a bit of
water to bind them, wrap them in tin
foil, pop them in the oven to dry out;
and unique new pastels are born!
I honestly believe that everyone can
paint. Some may be better at it that
others (some people can cook better
than others) ... but we can all do it.
I hear people say, “I can’t
draw a straight line.”
But you don’t need to draw a
straight line. There are very few
straight lines in Nature, and if you
do need to draw one, use a ruler!
I have a little mantra: ‘The Artist
brings something into the world
that didn’t exist before, and they
do it without destroying anything
else’. John Updike said that, and I
think it is a very true statement.
We learn by our mistakes. When I first
got back into art, I remember counting
every post in a fence to make sure that
I had the right number in my painting!
It makes me smile to think about it now
... as if anyone viewing the painting
would notice if one was missing.
Painting takes me off into another
dimension inside my mind where
I can get lost, and I actually reach
quite a meditative state. Artistically,
I am very happy doing what I’m
doing now. My work is well received,
and I am pretty content. ■Profile