10 Territorians Ten Territorians (watercolour) Page from a Nature Notebook Page from a Nature Notebook AW at The Creek Exhibition The Creek Exhibition Drying monoprints for collage Drying monoprints for collage

About

I paint the landscapes and wildlife around me.  My media are watercolour, pastel and sometimes oil and mixed media.  My style is eclectic and continuously changing.  I like to keep an artist's record of the fauna, flora and changing seasons around me.  My current residency at the Territory Wildlife Park allows me special scope for this and the chance to interact with visitors.  Drop in and see me at the 'Artists Hut'~

As a child I drew horses and painted as soon as I was old enough to hold a brush. I had my first Winsor & Newton paintbox for my 7th birthday and was taught by my mother. I collected my own natural history museum of rocks, fossils, flowers and insects. I still do - but as paintings. I went to Oxford High School and St Hilda's College, Oxford where I took an Honours degree in Natural Science (Zoology)....I then qualified in one of the professions which has provided my livelihood across the world and intellectual interest over the years, but I have always been a painter.

My best, most exciting years were spent in the paradise that was then the Solomon Islands, where I painted the magnificent, pristine rainforests, mangroves and coral sea. I met my husband there: Mike Bowman, mariner, chef, jeweller and restorer of steam locomotives. After returning to leave in Southern England and then Shetland, we eventually ended up on a strip of woodland and seasonal wetland in Humpty Doo, South East of Darwin. Well, not quite ‘ended'.

My studio is an upstairs veranda surrounded by trees and birds. Most of my pastels are painted en plein air: painting the bush is my way of expressing my appreciation of it and my concerns for its fragility, transience and its intrinsic value. It is a plea for the Australian bush to be treasured and conserved. Many of my pastels are ‘intimate' landscapes which reflect my fascination for the small plants and creatures that live there.

Exhibitions, Awards, Residencies

 

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