I’m super nervous about this event coming up.  This is a group show that I’m in opening on the 23rd of September.

Title of work – “Like Breath on a cold winters night”
Size – 91cm x 91cm
Medium – Mixed Media on canvas

This artwork has been inspired by “Encounter” by Czeslaw Milosz and it tells multiple stories filled with layers, symbolism and meaning. Exploring notions of death, perspectives, time fractures and how two separate existences meet to bring a new reality into being. The landscape is eerily quiet, with signs of a past that can’t be forgotten trapped in the ice. Two animals stand side by side to comfort eachother. Each animal represents a person with significant importance to a personal family tale. It tells a story about a Russian resistance fighter (musk deer) rescuing a polish refugee (grey wolf) from the concentration camps during World War II and then falling in love. They came together during war to start a life of joy and fulfilment in which they would remain by each other’s side until the day they died. May the light continue to bring peace.

————————————-

Encounter
by Czeslaw Milosz

We were riding through frozen fields in a wagon at dawn.
A red wing rose in the darkness.

And suddenly a hare ran across the road.
One of us pointed to it with his hand.

That was long ago.  Today neither of them is alive,
Not the hare, nor the man who made the gesture.

O my love, where are they, where are they going
The flash of a hand, streak of movement, rustle of pebbles.
I ask not out of sorrow, but in wonder.

To enter -

• fan my page on facebook
• comment on facebook and let me know why you should win the gift voucher

simple!  For every time you link to my facebook page, you get another entry.  (plus, for those of you with business pages it helps me discover your page & have a chance to see what you might create!)  Make sure you link through facebook, or pop into the comments here so I can keep track of how many entries to put in for you.  Good luck!

“Paradise”

Watercolour and ink on archival paper
29cm x 36cm

A museum both enthral and repels.  It houses the most amazing creatures we’ve ever seen, yet encases them in glass cages or drawers stuffed with no life left in them.  They hint of a life lived, yet we never really know anything about them.  The way they moved, their family, what they ate, what they liked.

I have a current fascination with butterflies and taxidermy.  Whether it be a stuffed toy fox wrapped around the shoulders to mock vintage furs.  Or a squirrel on a mantlepiece under a dome of glass.  Or rows of beetles stabbed with pins to a board in clean neat rows. Collections of the most amazing things.

That sounds morbid.  I wanted to illustrate an arranged collection of beautiful butterflies in rows and full of amazing colour.  Not necessarily dead, yet not quite alive.  Captured in watercolour these butterflies speak to me of a paradise and a hope for a brighter future.  Of the differences that make each one unique, special in their own right.  It speaks about the need for me, and you, to accept ourselves.  To step away from the media, the magazines and the televisions and to look solely at ourselves and smile.  It speaks of what is real.

Wow, what an incredible year this is becoming.  I’m so excited to announce that I’m engaged to the amazing Mr R.  At 11pm last night, just before I was going to bed, he got down on one knee and slipped out a ring he hid under the bed and asked me to marry him.  Of course I said yes.    We’re going out to dinner on wednesday night to celebrate.

Our wedding is going to have a ‘vintage & handmade’ theme, our plan is to marry in february 2012, a few short months away.  I’m so excited!!

“Let’s Get Lost”

Mixed media on archival paper – collage, watercolour, ink, coloured pencil, graphite
34.5cm x 46.5cm

Stress is a constant factor in our everyday lives.  We can’t escape it.  These two girls met, decided they both needed a holiday and in order to do that they would have to get lost.

The patterns reflect our lives – busy, monotonous, complicated yet predictable and consistent.  The girls reflect what I envy – fashionable, stylish, pretty, innocent, carefree, long hair, best of friends.  One is blonde and one has dark hair, polar opposites yet still bonded by their relationship.  The background is full of bold bright butterflies.  This is to reflect hope, serenity, excitement and passion.  Butterflies live a very short lifespan, which is how I see a holiday (and speaks of how much I need one).  They both wear fashionable headpieces to conflict with the viewer on their destination.  They seem European, yet they have an Australian vibe, yet they are wearing oriental ornaments in their hair.  They are girls who could be going anywhere, doing anything, and whatever they choose – they need to do it now.

Let’s Get Lost

Eloise loves it when I make desserts, now only once a week or on special occasions.  The bath takes longer then the eating!

“I close my eyes and can still hear the music”

Mixed media on archival paper – collage, watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic, graphite
28.5cm x 36cm

This work speaks about a woman who enjoys the outdoors and feels alive under the night sky.  She has a gentle heart and stands waiting for her one true love wondering where he could be.  As the silence spreads across the darkness she feels at peace and hums a familiar tune.  The tune from her childhood music box where a carousel horse would move up and down in a rythmic motion.  She smiles to herself and continues to curl her hair around her fingers.

“Woodland Picnic”

Mixed media on archival paper – collage, watercolour, coloured pencil, acrylic
Drawn onto a cut leaf shape
28cm x 55cm

In our home picnics are frequently taken and we really enjoy them.  I also enjoy watching end of the world movies and I’m a fantasy buff.  This leads my imagination to run astray – all the time.

This night I imagined animals from the wildwoods going on their own picnic as the humans have all but disappearred.  The thing is, they have no idea what to do.  The rabbit awaits for more food to appear, and the owl is quite happy to rest until the night is upon them.  The table is laden with treats – or so it implies.  Nuts for the missing squirrel, carrots for the rabbit who prefers apples, and lemon slice for the humans who have disappearred.  The owl would like a tasty mouse, but there doesn’t seem to be many of them going around.  The remainder of the dinnerware is set out on display but remains empty, waiting for the next course to be served.  All is not what it seems on the woodland picnic.

“I’m Ready, Can’t You See?”

Mixed media on archival paper – watercolour, ink, coloured pencil, collage, graphite
29cm X 38.5cm

This work was inspired by the release of the amazing twentysevennames 2012 collection – shown via photographs instead of a runway show.  Mindblowing images.

My interpretation in my illustration was to have a girl posing for a photo, yet part of this world that I’ve seemed to have created in my own imagination.  The trees reflect the exhibition theme of ‘Wilderness’.  It is implied she is wearing an outfit, but it is deliberate that you can’t quite figure out what.  Is she invisible, or hiding, or is she trying to stand out of the crowd.  She is modern and stylish, yet has an old soul – reflected in the styling and accessories.  She is surrounded by hanging terraniums which are most likely the closest thing she’ll ever get to taking care of anything in her hectic lifestyle.  They give her peace and pleasure.  She has a shy smile with a hint of seduction.  She’s not afraid of boys but is quite happy living her life independently.