Colour has taken hold of me; no longer do I have to chase after it.
I know that it has hold of me for ever. That is the significance of this blessed moment.

Paul Klee 1914

The Artist

I am an artist who paints out of colour. Colour drives the form, the gesture, the mood. I first met colour forty years ago as a student and I have been entranced with it ever since. My aim is to bring creativity into every sphere of human life. To be human is to be creative.

My core artistic medium is painting, specialising in a non-traditional approach to watercolour inspired by the anthroposophic approach to art. I used to paint murals using a technique called lazure and produced over 600 sq.m of murals in Australia, New Zealand and Belgium, most frequently in medical/therapeutic centres. Such environments are particularly suited to the saturated yet subtly translucent surfaces of lazure where mental health as well as physical wellbeing is the priority. Through my training in art therapy and many years of working with colour, I developed a special sensitivity to the effects of light, colour and mood on the spatial environment, hence the name of my practice, Painted Space. I no longer paint murals – too much climbing – but that sense of the importance of the spaces we live and work in still informs my work. 

Professional training: Emerson College and Tobias School of Art and Therapy in England, in Waldorf Education, visual arts and artistic therapy

The Academic

For me, art and research go hand in hand. I find it essential to always understand the whys as well as the hows of artistic creation and I use my research skills to bring insight and depth to all my classes. I am as much an educationalist as an artist and regularly lecture on cultural history, phenomenology, creativity and consciousness.As a rigorous researcher, I like to peel back the layers of whatever I am exploring to find its essence. I like to find the right word, the best expression, the clearest statement to describe that essence. But I like also to play with words and constantly edit, edit and edit again, whatever I write.

I have been a teacher for more than 30 years at community, vocational and tertiary levels with a reputation for a clear yet immersive teaching style. I value the diversity of my trainings and experience as this gives me the ability to cross the traditional boundaries between Art, Science and Spirituality.

Academic training: BA (Honours) in Communications (English & Linguistics), Macquarie University; MA in Information Science and a PhD on creative cognition, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

 

 

Memberships

National Association of Visual Arts
Sektion für Bildende Künste
Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education
Stream of Life Research Studio.