“There's a flame of magic inside every stone & every flower, every bird that sings & every frog that croaks. There's magic in the trees & the hills & the river & the rocks, in the sea & the stars & the wind, a deep, wild magic that's as old as the world itself.” ~ Kate Forsyth, The Puzzle Ring

I’ve always intuitively observed how lines, colours and shapes define the essence and personality of things, so when I paint I begin by breaking down the complete picture into its abstract forms. Whether creating the figurative representation of a person, or the abstraction of a forest or flower, I play with the interactions between the shapes and colours on canvas, each colour and shape becoming its own character and contributing to the work as a whole.

My current work, Forest Tales, is a series of paintings with a story to tell, each painting taking the viewer on a fairy tale journey into the land of their imagination. In my large scale canvases the detailed shapes and vibrant colours bring the forest to life. When looking closely at the painting, one discovers the suggestion of a fairy, a bird, or other creature… seemingly hidden within the painting.

As a young girl I read stories of fairytale forests, trolls, myths and magic. It’s a world of wonder, adventure, mystery and transformation and it’s that world I want to re-create through my art, opening a doorway to a more brilliant reality.