Blog

Crossing a Creative Threshold with Field Sketching and Gel Printing. January was named after the roman god 'Janus' with two faces. One face looks forward, the other one looks backwards. Janus stands on the threshold, holding the past and the future in view at the same time. It's amazing to me that I should have come across this story of Janus, at this precise moment in time in January 2026. Because this is where I am right now with my current paintings.

My studio time is wandering at the moment - perhaps it's to do with it being the end of the year and there's a sense that some down time is on the horizon! I've been painting, drawing and printmaking l at the same time. Part of me feels a little 'unfocused' but a bigger part of me feels 'free'. No deadlines looming, no exhibitions planned, just some glorious empty space to start 2026!

One of my favourite things to do is buy art, even though I don't do it very often. For me, paintings (and prints) bring such a sense of personality, style and energy to my home, which I'll admit is unsurprisingly eclectic! I love a bit of everything, from vintage posters, to impasto style paintings, simple watercolours to framed textile pieces, photography to charcoal studies, lino prints to glasswork.

With Noosa Open Studios 2025 now over for another year, I've found myself reflecting on the experience and the learnings that have happened through my interactions with this year's wonderfully engaged visitors. As always the magic of opening my studio door and waiting to see who will walk through it and what perspective they will bring is something I have come to cherish.

Many of my recent thoughts and undertakings in the studio have prompted me to consider deeply the notion of being not just an artist but also an observer. I don't just mean in a literal sense as if I was capturing a still life in charcoal or a en plein air landscape in paint. I mean really making sense of what I am seeing by bringing a multitude of senses to moment of looking.