“In gorge country I gently swim, float, through a natural pool. Inky green, a long narrow chasm, a steep crevice on either side – an all encompassing feeling of being buoyant, held.

“In breakaway country the hard gravel cap of the earth is broken away to reveal the under layers; ochres, clay, dusky pinks, an underground ancient river system revealed, watched over by powerful and majestic River Gums.

“The sketches, pared back and instinctual, later become the emotional marker and physical reminder of the feeling of place. They inform the paintings in the beginning, the very first tentative marks – a mapping of place. A little further on in the process I usually abandon pre-conceived ideas and instead respond to the push and pull of paint on surface. I’m in the flow and this energy must be harnessed directly.

“I find in painting there is a tussle, a cadence, between exertion and surrender. There is movement, control, and a dance between effort and flow.

“For this exhibition I have moved between representational forms of iconic trees, to abstracted forms that speak to a feeling of being contained, cared for – a heart space or a vortex. I have a feeling of reciprocal care – we care for the environment and it nurtures us too.

“I go where the curiosity takes me – open to the journey. The path is never clear – a play between what you hold within you (your known landscape) and what you seek out (the new experience). With Entangled Curiosities, the influence doesn’t just come from one place but is current, evolving and relates to my day to day environment. I seek landscapes that feel like they are already part of me.”