I am a painter, a printmaker and am currently studying Architectural Technology at Wintec. I also hold a degree in Zoology from the University of Otago. I grew up in the Waikato but it was upon moving back in 2005, that I finally picked up a paintbrush and began painting again.
Wanting to broaden my horizons and work alongside other artists, I joined Waikato Society of Arts, and attended classes in etching and experimental printmaking. Both techniques challenged my art and thought processes, and I agreed to tutor the experimental printmaking classes in 2012. I love experimenting with print and mixing different printmaking techniques to produce original and unique pieces of work. I use intaglio processes alongside relief work, and enjoy the fact that solar printing allows me to employ both methods. A variety of new techniques in one area of my art have also allowed the transfer of ideas and enthusiasm back to the canvas. I enjoy especially the challenge of bringing a paint-like quality to my original prints
and multi-layering my acrylic based paintings - while finding unique ways of framing and displaying all forms of my art work.
My latest paintings are textured based works: some on canvas and others using recycled timber doors as my backdrop. My most recent prints reflect thought processes, emotions and experiences I’m journeying through at the moment – helping me express these processes when words alone are not enough.
I tell my story in my art……of moments/things/experiences/objects that touch me.
The art may depict:
- an object found on a walk
- a landscape flashing by but caught like a photo in my memory
- the environment I inhabit every day
- the architecture of a building & the way it melds with the landscape
- a sensory experience - from smell/sound/sight/touch or taste
- a moment in time
- an emotion felt
- the struggle of a deep loss
- the rediscovery of belief in myself
It speaks of ideas and dreams. It speaks of sadness, of hope and determination. My art tells the story of what is around me and what is within me.
It is personal and yearns to be told.