Hi, and welcome to my website.

The moment I could hold a pencil, I discovered I could draw. And as far back as my memory allows, I have been aware of a deep and abiding love and respect for the living, natural wonders in the world around me.

It just seemed to be a given, that painting the things I love, would be amongst my priorities in life.

I don't for a minute think that a painting can come anywhere close to nature, but when I discovered pastels, and the beautiful, true, vibrancy of colours and consistency that they offered to my style of artwork, I knew they were for me. I love the combination of drawing and painting that they allow, and I love the fact that long after I'm gone from this earth, my paintings will be hanging on peoples' walls, to be enjoyed, and they will be as fresh and vibrant as the day they were created.

I'm passionately Australian and have been lucky enough to live in a most diverse set of landscapes in Eastern Australia. From the incredibly beautiful South coast of NSW, where the State Forest literally meets pristine white beaches. Where kangaroos and seagulls share space on the shoreline, and it's not uncommon to see pods of dolphins playing in the surf line on any morning.

I've lived in the apple and wine region of Southern QLD, not far from the Darling Downs, when each day is so hot you can't go outside between 10 & 2 and the heat and sun are relentless, and rain is just a memory. The landscape seems washed out and dull, but when the sun hits the long grasses of the plains in the morning, they're a beautiful soft pale blue against the red earth. And when the sun sets each day, it's better than any fireworks you'll ever see over Sydney Harbour on New Years Eve. I've been sitting on the veranda of an old farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a molten day and the air is fairly crackling with anticipation of an imminent storm. When the wind is so high, huge branches fly by horizontally, and lightning and thunder occur simultaneously, and you can smell the burning trees that were in the line of the lightning strikes.

When I moved to Southern Tasmania in 2001, I came home. This beautiful, mostly unspoilt, huge little island has it all. Unique, abundant wildlife, (please let the Devils survive), pristine lakes, vast tracts of wilderness no human foot has ever, or hopefully, will ever tread. Beautiful beaches, high peaks, rainforest, plains, fresh air, fresh water.

I'll never leave Tassie and I'm very glad to finally have found a settled home base from which to work. Pete & I have just moved to our beautiful final home. It's in the mountains above Collinsvale, and we plan to use our home to rehabilitate and release orphaned and injured native wildlife. Perfect!!

It gives me a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction to be able to paint someone's special place, memory, best friend from the animal world; whatever it is that's unique to them. Generally, I do sketches and make notes for a colour guide to use later in the studio, and I also take reference photographs because of ever changing light. With animals and wildlife I rely heavily on photos as my paintings are quite detailed and must be anatomically correct and lifelike. Realism is my natural style of art, and I feel that even though a painting may look like a photograph, when it's completed, a painting has more heart.

I hope you enjoy my website.