Uncovering issues around identity and a sense of belonging has always intrigued me. I am fascinated by the idea that the human race is one and that we are all cosmically connected despite geographical and cultural divides. Traveling has allowed me to recognize that, essentially, we all have the same hopes and dreams and I am touched by our shared stories. The people, experiences, colours and textures absorbed throughout many years of traveling I now express through my art.
Painting the human condition from my personal point of view is about remembering and capturing inspired moments and interpreting them onto canvas or paper. Just hearing the sounds of life like the variety of bird calls echoing across the tree branches or walking on the beach and seeing the lighthouse in the distance can trigger a series of mental images that can be translated onto a canvas. The interpretation of light is also an act of faith when I do my painting. This is why colour and tone are so important to the overall mood and effect of the painting.
Sometimes I have walked away from a painting simply because I have felt the rhythm disappear. The electricity that powers the paint on the brush disconnects and it's then that I have learnt to take a break and come back to the painting when the rhythm returns. I always ask myself what is behind the surface of the image I am painting or drawing. I am conscious that the image has been created and can be seen literally, but what about the magic which has been left in the layers of paint that is unseen by the naked eye, but emotionally experienced? The materials and brushes have disappeared and been forgotten, the type of canvas that I am so particular about is no longer of concern, because now the image has a life of its own. I no longer have the thought that I created the painting. I am only an instrument to bring the painting into this world.
From this personal principle the image is made real and projected into the world with the faith that the painting will stir an emotional response from a universal audience. One such example is the true life story from Byron Bay artist Tiffany Calder Kingston, who's exquisitely beautiful paintings touch a cord with so many people from all walks of life. Tiffany crossed paths with a person holidaying from overseas in Byron Bay who had found an old exhibition pamphlet from Tiffany’s exhibition "Voices of the Earth" with her owl painting on it. The idea that a painting takes on a life of it's own is fully realised in Tiffany’s amazing real life story. visit Tiffany's website here: