2011–2016

In my last blog, I wrote about our amazing trip to Kenya and Zanzibar Island in 2011.

By 2012, Tim and I were back in Perth and were invited to exhibit work inspired by our recent travels. The exhibition included my paintings, hand-coloured lino cuts and ceramics, along with Tim’s photographs.

I worked in the Swan Valley studio of Perth artist Jude Taylor, making and printing large lino cuts on beautiful 640gsm fine art paper. Back in my own studio, I hand-coloured each print with watercolour.

I also commissioned ceramic artist Greg Crow to throw a range of vases and platters for me. I decorated these using the sgraffito technique, carving through black slip while the clay was still soft to reveal the white clay beneath.

Those vivid colours of the Kenyan coast were still so alive in my memory, and I began a new series of paintings in acrylic and oil. I had been so moved by what we had seen and experienced, and it all came pouring back into the work.

Tim had taken photographs throughout our travels, often using his Swahili to speak with the people we met along the way. He used an old Canon AE-1 camera and Kodak Tri-X 400 film, and captured some wonderful images.

The exhibition was called The Swahili Coast and was held at Gallows Gallery in Mosman Park.

We had an African band, African-inspired food and a room full of friends and collectors. It was such a wonderful opening night.

Tim and I had always loved travelling to Bali, and it had long been our dream to live there one day. So in 2013, we decided to find out whether that dream was real, or just a crazy fantasy.

We headed to Ubud for six months and rented a house on Subak Sok Wayah, an area of Ubud we already knew and loved. It didn’t take long for us to settle into Bali life.

Very quickly, we realised that yes, we really could live there.

I rented a large studio and began painting, inspired by the beauty around me — the flowers, birds, butterflies, colour and daily life. I also hosted two art retreats, which were such fun. I loved sharing that little piece of paradise we had found.

And then we began the search for a piece of land where we could build our dream home.

Back in Australia, we listed our wonderful cottage in the Perth hills for sale, packed up the things we would be taking with us, and began the next adventure in our lives.

In 2016, I was invited to be artist in residence for five weeks in the tiny, isolated town of Cossack in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

I was not prepared for the beauty of that place.

I walked for hours along the beach at low tide, completely captivated by the patterns left in the sand, the mangroves, the tidal flats and the ancient rock formations. Everywhere I looked there was something to draw me in.

I set up my studio in one of the historic buildings and began to work.

For the first time in a long time, I felt completely free to paint whatever I wanted. No rules. No expectations. Just the landscape, the marks, the colour and the feeling of the place.

It was at Cossack that I began my first abstract paintings.

That time changed something in my work. The paintings I made there, and the experience of being in that landscape, have continued to influence almost everything I have painted since.

Historic buildings and my Studio at Cossack

In Cossack when I began my first abstract paintings

And that is not quite the end of the story. There were still more places to go, more paintings to paint and another chapter waiting. Stay tuned.

My Art Journey Continued: From The Swahili Coast to Cossack

2011–2016

My Art Journey Continued: Exhibitions and residencies