Art, a window into the artist’s soul. Really an artist’s work is like a diary, a continuous flow of the passion, drama and experiences that colour their everyday lives, just without the words. If I stand back and look at my work, there is an interesting story line that has moved and changed as life events have effected me on an emotional level. When my mother-in-law passed just over a year ago (a most wonderful woman with such a beautiful soul, who truly was like a best friend to me) the colours I was drawn to changed dramatically, a total switch from a cool palette to a warm palette. We create because we are driven to create, this unquenchable ‘need’ is at the very essence of our being. It is actually how we talk.

Even though we bare our souls on canvas every day when we work, we do like to share our ‘book of life’ in the hope that it will uplift and inspire, create conversation, build dreams and maybe fill a heart with wonder somewhere. I have been moving toward making my art more accessible, (not everyone feels the need to have an expensive original hanging in their personal space). In an effort to share with more people I am now creating Art Prints and Greeting Cards.

I take so many photos of my work as I go, little sections of larger works that flow onto my Instagram page. Perfect bits of flowing colour and forms that really speak to my soul. It seemed such a waste not to use them. So I have begun creating a Greeting Card range using these perfect pieces and I am very happy with the end result. It is always such a buzz when a creative plan comes together. I also love a spectacular sunrise and am privileged to see them in all their glory here on the banks of the Murray River where I live. I wake up, walk outside and photograph the most inspiring and spectacular views of colour and light refracting across the water and the sky. So of course these too will become beautiful quality cards, and I can now share my special place with all of you.

Painting intuitively I find I am never really able to replicate what I have created. Even when I stand back and think, “wow, love this, I should do another one”. This just doesn’t happen because there is an emotional form in each and every one of my paintings, like a chapter or a paragraph from a book. They are all unique and tell their individual story. With this in mind I am also creating A4 & A3 Art Prints of some of my very special pieces.

I have selected quality fine art papers to use from the German Hahnemuhle Naturals range for the art prints. An environmentally friendlier range of luscious print papers. The Bamboo and Hemp seemed the perfect choice as we all move toward repairing and leaving less of a footprint on our beautiful earth. These two papers use much less water than traditional papers use, are fast growing and are sustainable. Prints are all sleeved within an archival crystal clear bag and sit on an archival white backing board to keep them flat and perfect. For the card stock I use Red River Linen, a lightly textured card that emulates a linen artist canvas, coupled with a premium quality envelope and sleeved in a crystal clear bag for protection.

And with all of this happening it’s like that advert where the little boy says “you need a bigger boat”. I think I am at the stage where ‘I need a bigger work space’. Time for me to create! Happy day…………