ABOUT ME.....
Once or twice a week I collect my pastels and begin my search for a suitable plein-air painting spot. Where I live this is not difficult as for my art there is so much material to draw from - our beautiful bay, the ocean, the wineries and bushland, and a wonderful big sky. The Mornington Peninsula has a wealth of visual experiences!
My painting career began with several years as a pupil of the Tonal Realist school which was an excellent grounding for a solid future in art. After some years of working in oils and then
experimenting with watercolours, I discovered the enjoyment of soft pastels. While I occasionally still like to paint in oils, I choose to express what I see and to record how I interpret my vision, mainly in pastel.
Many of my paintings begin outside - en Plein-air - and are finished in my studio. This way I am in touch with my subject. I am exposed to all the difficulties and challenges of being out in the open, as well as to the gentler moods of nature on kinder days. And when I am in my studio to complete my vision and my experience, my music and my art transport me into my own beautiful world.
Memberships
Pastel Society Victoria, Australia
Peninsula Plein-air Painters
Tuesday Plein-air Painters
Oak Hill Gallery, Mornington
Awards
Highly Commended - Pastel Society Victoria, Australia - 2015
Margaret Lourey Encouragement Award - Pastel Society Victoria, Australia - 2017
Best Pastel in Show - Blairgowrie Easter Art Show - 2019
Encouragement Award - Pastel Society Victoria, Australia - Sept.2020
Encouragement Award - Pastel Society Victoria, Australia - June 2021
Solo Exhibitions
Phaedrus Winery - 2016
Mornington Library - 2018
Whitehill Gallery - 2019
Mornington Library - 2022
Mornington Library - 2023
About Dry Pastels
Pastel is the most permanent of all media when applied to an archival quality surface and properly framed. The pigments used in pastel-making are the same as those used in the making of artists' oil paints. Pastels used by painters from the 16th Century still exist today in all their brilliance. Degas, Cassat, Monet, Manet, Whistler are just a few of the Impressionists who favoured the luminosity of pastels.