Artist's Statement
I am an Australian artist working primarily in oil and mixed media on canvas and paper. Over more than forty years, my work has evolved to become an exploration of the graphic gesture at the moment of creation. I define my style as gestural abstraction.
I see my hand as a seismograph, registering the moments of an individual life. It's about the movement from the heart, via the breath and the hand, to the canvas; the painterly evidence of mind, emotion, and the physical body. This mind is both conscious, and unconscious in the way a seismograph will register vibrations before we're aware of them.
My Process and Inspiration
Some artists and writers see themselves as a conduit for work that arises from outside themselves. I envisage it differently. My work feels as if it is coming from something like a great subterranean river that is constantly flowing under my life, being fed by everything that registers upon me. When I work, I reach down into this river. When I don't work, it continues to flow and I miss all the possibilities it offers.
I see my hand as a seismograph, registering the moments of an individual life. It's about the movement from the heart, via the breath and the hand, to the canvas; the painterly evidence of mind, emotion, and the physical body. This mind is both conscious, and unconscious in the way a seismograph will register vibrations before we're aware of them.
My Process and Inspiration
Some artists and writers see themselves as a conduit for work that arises from outside themselves. I envisage it differently. My work feels as if it is coming from something like a great subterranean river that is constantly flowing under my life, being fed by everything that registers upon me. When I work, I reach down into this river. When I don't work, it continues to flow and I miss all the possibilities it offers.
Poetry
For about the last decade I have been writing haiku-style poetry. It grew out of my interest in Buddhism and Japanese literature and culture. These short, often three-line poems, are not illustrations of my visual art, but they are very visual and, as with traditional haiku, are often inspired by the natural world. Poetry enables me to record the way I experience the world in a way that is different from the visual medium. For more information about my poetry, please go to the POETRY page or read my blog.
