About the Artist

I have loved animals for as long as I can remember. I enjoy watching creatures in their own surroundings, going about their daily lives. I love their antics and their uniqueness, and I love their innate honesty.

When presented with the opportunity, I visit zoos in Australia and overseas, taking photographs of the various animals they care for.

I was fortunate enough to visit and stay in the Katmai National Park in Alaska several years ago where I observed brown bears, sea otters and eagles in their natural environment. I had a similar experience in the Outer Hebrides where I saw Puffins, a variety of sea birds and seals.

I was drawn to begin painting animals at the beginning of 2006 after I saw an amazing painting of a gorilla and knew that was what I wanted to do in my spare time. At the time I was working full time as a consultant in safety and rehabilitation, having originally worked as an Occupational Therapist in the health and education sectors. I then joined a large corporate and later began helping large businesses set up programs to assist workers who had been injured at work.

Although I don’t have formal art qualifications, I have attended art classes since 2006 with artists Sonja Georgeson, Robbie Hodge and Rachel Carroll, who have introduced me to oils and soft pastels. I was already using acrylics when I began these classes, a medium I had learnt in various workshops in the years before I got the urge to focus on animals.