Biography
My earliest memory is of drawing for my great aunts while my brothers and sisters were running amok outside, and it has always been my dream to be an artist. The birth of my son in 1996 provided the catalyst for me to finally realize that dream. I gave up work and began to paint in earnest while caring for two young children. I decided to turn professional in 2003 when I was invited to participate in the Fourth Edition of the Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea in Florence, Italy. Since then I have exhibited locally, interstate, and internationally, and interest in my work is growing. In December 2006 I was invited to join the Australian delegation of 14 artists to the 2006 Guangzhou International Art Fair in China. The delegation was curated by Fergus Tam and was endorsed by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). One of my pieces exhibited was selected by the Guangzhou International Art Fair Committee to represent Australia in all the promotional material for the event. I am represented by galleries in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and in private collections in Australia, Spain, Germany, Ireland, China, Canada and the United States.
Artist Statement
Light on form is my inspiration and fuels all my work. I start each piece as an exercise in lighting form, whether it is the human figure or the landscape/seascape; and each piece invariably progresses into a spiritual journey where the painting evolves into a vignette of my everyday life – the emotions, the responses to external events and pressures, and my ongoing spiritual reflection: all rarely articulated. Whilst not intentional the women in my paintings feel and face pain and in my landscscapes a deep emotion is evoked. This emotion comes as I paint – subconsciously it dictates the creation of each facet of the painting: the palette, the background, the brushstrokes. Each piece takes me on a journey, sometimes unwelcome but always illuminating.
Solo Exhibitions
2007 Spotlight Show RM Galleries Hamilton QLD
2006 Recent Paintings SODA Gallery Avalon NSW
2006 Fusions RM Galleries Hamilton QLD
2004 Lighting the Body SODA Gallery Avalon NSW
Selected Group Exhibitions
2008 Summer 2008 Group Exhibition Paddington Contemporary Sydney NSW
2007 2nd Premio Internazionale di Pittura Treviso Italy
2007 EMSLA Salon de Refusee Coffs Harbour Regional Museum
2007 2nd Premio Internazionale di Pittura Arte Laguna Treviso Italy
2007 Flying Arts Regional Art Awards Toowoomba
2007 2007 Guangzhou International Art Fair China
2007 Nudes 07 De Havilland Gallery Wollongong NSW
2007 The Body Show Brunswick Street Gallery Melbourne VIC
2007 Art Melbourne Brunswick St Gallery Melbourne V
2007 Four Emerging Artists Bella Arts Gallery Springfield Lakes QLD
2006 Guangzhou International Art Fair China
2006 Flying Arts Regional Art Awards Townsville and Brisbane Season QLD
2006 Norvill Art Prize Murrurundi NSW
2006 Blake Exceptions Exhibition Rushcutters Bay Gallery Sydney NSW
2005 Cromwell’s Art Prize Sydney NSW
2005 Regional Art Prize Toowoomba QLD
2005 Joint show Maria Perides Gallery Newstead QLD with Max Liebermann
2005 Group Show Galerie Faerber Ahrensburg Germany
2005 Group Show Marziart International Galerie Hamburg
2005 Churchie Emerging Art Exhibition East Brisbane QLD
2003 Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea Florence Italy
Upcoming and Current Exhibitions
Mar 2008 Au Naturel - The Nude in the 21st Century Oregon USA
May 2008 Solo Show Brunswick St Gallery Melbourne VIC
Jun 2008 Five Senses (Showcasing Excellence in Regional Art) Brisbane QLD
Nov 2008 Featured Artist Brisbane Square Library Brisbane QLD
Selected Awards
2008 Selected Exhibitor Five Senses - Showcasing Excellence in Regional Art Brisbane QLD
2008 Selected Exhibitor Au Naturel - The Nude in the 21st Century Oregon USA
2007 Prize of Excellence/Award of Distinction Artoteque London
2007 Selected Exhibitor 2nd Premio Internazionale di Pittura Treviso Italy
2007 Finalist May Exhibition Solarte Art Gallery New Mexico
2006 Selected Artist Avant Card Calling All Artists Project
2006 Finalist Norvill Art Prize
2006 First Prize Just Nudes Exhibition Ipswich
2005 Finalist Cromwell’s Art Prize
2005 People’s Choice Award Regional Art Awards Toowoomba
2005 RADF Grant to assist with expenses incurred in participating in group exhibition at Marziart International Gallery in Hamburg
2003 RADF Grant to assist with travel expenses to Florence to participate in the Biennale Internazionale dell’Arte Contemporanea
Publications
2006 Manly Daily 7/7/06 ‘Figuratively Speaking’
2005 Queensland Times 22/6/05 ‘Ipswich Art Stops German Traffic’
2005 ‘Vanguard – Paper wake’ Issue 1 2005 – University of Queensland’s Art and Literary Journal
2004 Spectrum Weekend Edition Sydney Morning Herald 30/10/04 Review of ‘Lighting the Body’ Exhibition by Lenny Ann Low
Selected Collections
Private collections in Australia, Canada, China, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Spain and the USA