News
Lost at the Asylum selected as finalist in 2022 John Leslie Art Prize
My painting "Lost at the Asylum" is a finalist in the John Leslie Art Prize for landscape painting at Gippsland Art Gallery. The exhibition continues until 27th November 2022.
(Scroll down to read more of the story behind this artwork!)
Two paintings selected in the 2022 Whitsundays Art Prize
"Hard Day's Work" and "Home at Last" were both selected as finalists and travelled to Airlie Beach for the Whitsundays Art Prize exhibition in September.
Hard Day's Work Highly Commended at 2022 Ipswich Art Awards
My latest watercolour of the heritage listed North Ipswich Railway Workshops, titled Hard Day's Work, has been highly commended at this year's Ipswich Art Awards.
(Below: Pictured with Mayor Teresa Harding and Councillor Andrew Fechner)
Remnants of the Past funded by Regional Arts Development Fund
I’m very happy to announce I have received a grant to create my next series of paintings. This series will look at remnants of the past - historical buildings and artefacts; the way they connect us to another time and pose questions about their former owners or inhabitants. Thank you to the Queensland Government and Ipswich City Council for supporting this project.
The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between Queensland Government and Ipswich City Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
Lost at the Asylum Highly Commended at Ipswich Art Awards
My painting Lost at the Asylum, pictured below, was highly commended at the 2021 Ipswich Art Awards. Here I am, pictured with judges Samatha Littley, Bruce Heiser and Michael Beckmann. Thank you!!!
Web of Life acquired by Ipswich Art Gallery
My painting Web of Life has recently been acquired by the gallery for their collection, and is currently on display in the new Ipswich City Council building.
Lost at the Asylum funded by BEMAC Creative Booster grant
This painting is of Blair Pavilion, part of the old Ipswich Hospital for the Insane. It stands on the grounds of what is now the University of Southern Queensland campus.
This building has always interested and disturbed me with its imposing architecture and ominous feel. It sits abandoned and boarded up, adding to the eeriness. Recently, watching the ABC news on Anzac Day this year, I learnt about a local veteran, Matt Rennie OAM, who was painstakingly researching and identifying 72 World War 1 soldiers buried in unmarked graves at the nearby Ipswich General Cemetery. They had all died in this asylum, committed for being “vagrant alcoholics, damaged by the horrors of war” or having “shell shock and battle fatigue”. He found some of them had held military medals for heroic actions. Since watching this I have been researching more about this hospital and its inmates online. I feel the historical fate of people with mental illness and substance abuse issues may especially strike a chord in the current climate of Covid-19.
Many thanks to Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre (BEMAC) and Regional Arts Services Network (RASN) for supporting this project.
Still acquired by Ipswich Art Gallery as part of their collection
Still, a watercolour and ink piece created in 2019, has recently been acquired by Ipswich Art Gallery as part of their collection.
Highlights of my solo exhibition Entanglement at Ipswich Art Gallery September 2018
Entanglement explored how the interconnections that we view in nature mimic those we experience in our human relationships - pushing, pulling, finding balance and becoming part of a network or support system.
Thank you to everyone who came along, and a massive thanks to the staff of Ipswich Art Gallery for their hard work.
