Biography
My unconventional upbringing involved several periods of abandoned education, family homes sold and exchanged permanently for a small yacht sailing the Indian Ocean islands, the Atlantic and the Caribbean. I qualified as a Royal Town Planning Institute Chartered Town Planner/Urban Designer and worked for a city corporation, architects and engineering firms in South Africa and Australia. Town planning has now given way to my passion for painting and in 2022 I graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Art, from the Adelaide Central School of Art.
My paintings relate to my engagement with and, solace in the natural world both as a food gardener and a bush walker. Each work begins with an instance of awe …fleeting moments when something catches my eye and lifts me out of the everyday. It might be the sparkle of dew on my home grown vegetables, or the first glimpse of a distant mountain. My small landscapes and still lifes are painted from direct observation, while larger works involve more studio time and my ipad paintings, notes and photographs. I want to share the enchantment and endless beauty of natural systems. I have a deep seated belief that there are implications for humans if we do not consider ourselves a part of nature, rather than apart from nature. This underlies my art and Author Giovanni Aloi’s writing is close to my heart.
I am interested in how I can personally reduce my carbon footprint by growing our food. A previous employer, Sophie Thomson, claims that gardening can save the world. I have come to believe this: that many of us can honestly make a difference by growing food and disengaging, where possible, from the international food system that generates about 35% of our greenhouse gasses.
I live in the Adelaide Hills, 25 minutes from the centre of Adelaide. Here the environment, my garden, vegetables, sheep, chickens, husband, children and “other animals” have served as a constant inspiration for, and distraction from, my painting! I vote with my paring knife and garden fork for Slow Food and our Small Planet!
