Whenever I’m asked to talk about my work, I seize up and wonder what on EARTH I will say….so it’s probably best to be succinct. I paint New Zealand’s lush flora, fauna and landscape features….usually in ‘grids’ . I use acrylics and inks, black sand…and a variety of texturing products. I’d describe my style as stylised realism…if that’s ‘ a thing ‘!
My paintings have winged their way to seventeen countries that I know of, including two in the Faroe Islands! Many loyal collectors manage to squeeze “just one more “ of my paintings into their homes, and corporate clients generally buy my large works for boardrooms and entrance foyers.
A little bit of my history? I was a “ disappointing “ art student early in my life. Macrame, photography, screen printing were definitely not-my-thing and I was kicked out of my high school art classes( twice) … then promptly failed art at Teachers College, which was a ‘nearly impossible’ feat. And then, of course, I was deemed ‘ unsuitable to teach ‘. Feelings of embarrassment and family duty saw me high-tailing it to Otago university to redeem myself. After that, I taught English reasonably happily for twenty years. But I was ‘arty’ at heart and I remained a fabric painting, drawing, doodling, day dreamer throughout my school ma’am years.
Luck definitely played a part in my transition from teaching to painting. I hadn’t even thought about approaching galleries, but luckily, a friend who owned one approached me. My ‘debut’ paintings sold out quickly, giving me the confidence to ditch my day job and paint full time. Several big solo exhibitions in New Plymouth sold out over the next few years.
Then there was a was a ‘public’ hiatus for four years, where I continued to sell paintings but I really lurked under the radar …while I pursued other interests and projects.