I paint Australian Landscapes with a twist of abstract! I love to paint funky trees because that's how I see them. I never tire of watching their bark change throughout the seasons, the colours change with different light and the quirky shapes of their limbs.

I started to paint after suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury at 52 years of age. Painting initially helped to "unlock" my inner-self, thoughts and feelings that I found hard to express. Through my continued recovery, painting has become a passion. For me, trees are very symbolic. Even when they lose their bark or leaves and look very different to what they were before, they are still a tree, the same tree! That's what it felt like for me after my injury, I felt like a totally different person, I had to re-learn many basic things in life, but I was still the same person deep inside.

Sometimes I cover the canvas in whatever pattern and colours “speak” to me, or I clean my paint brushes or palette knives on a spare canvas. This in itself can be an outlet to experiment with colour, shapes or texture. But I also find that it is often an outward expression of the emotions I often bottle up inside. I leave these canvasses to dry and when I come back to them, and paint over them I find beautiful texture and shapes which guide the composition and colour of my next painting. I still have to remember to "ground" myself at times - and it’s the trees that I look to for help.
Sometimes I scrape back to create the tree - revealing blends of wonderful under colours. This is symbolic to me of re-connecting with my inner-being. At other times I paint the trees in – symbolic of the “new” me. This way I find my process is quite organic and intuitive to how the painting ends up.

My hope is that my art helps others in their healing journey and provides opportunities for connection with others and nature. I hope they encourage good conversations, opportunities for reflection and a reminder to practice mindfulness.