How would you describe what you do to someone who hasn’t seen your art?
My paintings are patterns I see around me reflected in the landscape, not in the conventional sense, but in an abstracted form. My patterned digital images are constructs of my daily coffee grounds digitally manipulated and coloured to form interesting designs.
Take us inside your studio.
I moved from Canberra to Melbourne four years ago. My studio is the largest room of the house out of necessity, because I collect things to draw or paint. Like many artists I’m a bit of a hoarder, especially patterned objects from nature.
Where do you begin when painting?
I’m a bit like a clock — I have to wind myself up to start and operate on a particular routine. Usually a day or two is spent preparing the surface of my canvases. When they are satisfactory and to the smoothness I require, I begin my painting. My inspiration is the main driver. It could be something I saw and tucked away in my mind somewhere, or as simple as a combination of colours and patterns I want to try. Sometimes I will begin with just a colour wash or a thick coat of paint and then decide where to go from there. I adjust some of this with the hose at high pressure on the back lawn to arrive at a paint surface I like. It’s intuitive. I don’t paint every day, but I might have a run of painting for several days and then I exhaust my ideas, including my body. It’s quite a physical practice as well.
What have you been working on recently?
I am preparing for an exhibition in North Fitzroy mid-year at Red Gallery. These are a new series of paintings which are much more complex than those on my website.
Is there another artist’s work that really speaks to you?
I love the work by Robyn Rankin. The paintings’ colours and designs really appeal to me and I love the naive quality in the design of the work.