Location : Australia
I am inspired first and foremost by what I see, feel and experience. I like secluded environments and have an affinity for nature. I love the tranquility of being alone in the country, away from the ebb and flow of people in the city. Hillsides, valleys, creeks, dramatic sunsets and rugged foreshores are of interest for artistic interpretation and all are recurring themes.

I am also compelled to explore the sensual female form, and in establishing an intimate visual relationship with the subject. Backgrounds are only important as blank backdrops, allowing the focus of attention to remain fixed on the nude.

While I continue to paint landscapes and nudes intermittently, my focus at the moment is on abstractions that have evolved from observations of rock pools along Boulder Creek in the Mothar Mountain National Park in southeast Queensland. I'm interested in the reflections and the patterns of light and shadows on the water surface. I've dispensed with brushes and have started working with palette knives, paint scrappers and lengths of wood to layer the paint, allowing some of the underpainting to remain partly exposed.

I have twice won the Bundaberg City Council Art Award, have been a finalist in several major art awards, including a Glover Landscape Award finalist in 2012, as well as a semi-finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2013 and 2015.

I was born at Monto in country Queensland, and spent my early years on a grazing property, which instilled an indelible connection with the landscape.

My landscapes are influenced by the works of Paul Gauguin and William Turner, while my figurative works show subtle references to Caravaggio and the old masters as well as the vibrant works of the modern masters, Willem De Kooning and Rainer Fetting.

Heading off into the country with a camera and sketch book is how I reconnect artistically with the landscape, while for nudes I get back to the basics of working with a life model.

I primarily work in oils on canvas for the love of the physicality of the medium. With a background in graphic art, I am also interested in digital art, nude photography and video. I produce digital collages that are derived from photographs and video stills.

My painting technique usually begins with sketches and digitally altered images. Through the digital process, I am able to experiment with overlaying imagery and manipulating compositional elements. Once I’ve developed multiple variations as preparatory studies, I output selected versions to use as references as I paint. I usually apply paint thickly, in a style that is expressive and intuitive. Colour is used to embellish, in the sense of adding to the aesthetic or emotional density of the composition.