Page 96 - The Digital Cloth - Issue 5

In August 1968 my family relocated from
South Australia to the Pilbara Region of
WA.
I started my painting journey as a child
growing up in the small closed mining

town of Mt Tom Price. My father would
take my sister, brother and me on
adventures out into large creek beds and
the lush gorges in Karijini National Park.
My childhood playground was one of a
magical world in an oasis hidden deep in
the desert. Here time stood still as I busily
skipped and hopped from one ancient
rock formation to another with not a

care in the world, only stopping
momentarily to admire the
beautiful ferns. I would crush pigment
from the colourful rocks found in the
stillness down in the gorges. The only
sound you could hear was the
gentle rhythm of the trickling water as I
scooped the powder up to take it home.
Once home I would mix it with water
and use it to paint objects & paper with
my fingers. It was evident through my

school years even then that a career in
Art in the future was inevitable. I was
highly influenced by the spiritual
quality and striking natural palette of
Karijini National Park throughout my
visits to this paradise which spanned for Sunspur Studios
more than two decades. It is from the
Pilbara & North West that my unique
Neo Impressionist / Pointillist style, rich

in vibrant colour and powerful contrast
began to develop. My love and respect
for the natural environment and its
preservation began to shape the way I
responded to and depicted the
landscapes I painted. I have 6/60 vision
from a congenital eye disorder which
further underpins the stylistic tapestries I
paint. Impressionist Through the strength
and raw emotion conveyed in my
painting I explore “how I see and

connect” with the scene through
memory, movement and touch as I am
painting.