Otherwhere

(Me in my studio at Maleny, Queensland, Australia. 2004)

Here is a Gallery of some of my artwork so far. The first one was made in 2003/4, while I was living in Queensland, Australia.

Bee-Boy

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / ink / ochre / coloured pencil

While in South East Queensland, I had the opportunity of living in a big army tent in the jungle for 9 months. My water supply was the river that bordered my encampment, I had no electricity and my bicycle was my only mode of transport to the nearest village, 20 minutes away. My garden was glorious. It was one of the best times of my life. One afternoon while sketching in my hammock by the river, I drew this little guy. A Bee Boy. It was the beginning of a whole series and the start of a fascinating exploration of a fantasy world which I named "Otherwhere".

Whilst drawing and painting the characters, tales and mythologies surrounding them couldn't help but emerge too. I'll put them in, where I still have the stories.

Tsss

(2003) Acrylic on canvas

Not long after the creation of the Bee- Boy, I came across a whole collection of art materials in a Roadside Recycle, which included an easel. The upright approach to painting was a revelation. This character is Tsss, he's the first painting that I did on the easel.

As I've travelled, I've managed to lose track of some of the original stories that went along with the exhibition of these works, so am adding them to the site as I re-locate them. If you have one of my works and still have the original handwritten story, too, I'd love it if you could e-mail a photo or post a photocopy. I'd especially love to include a photo of my "Sea-Sprites" painting that sold to a stranger from a shop in Maleny before I got a photo of it.

Protest Banner

(2004/5) Graphite / acrylic / gold leaf on canvas

This work is a large banner created as a protest piece for a cause I became immersed in while living in Maleny, Queensland. Our small town was in an uproar when the Deen Brothers Demolition squad came and levelled a beautiful native forest site in our town centre at the behest of Woolworths Supermarket Corporation. Not only did they smash and devastate a beautiful piece of town but they planned to build their extremely unwanted supermarket on top of the thriving platypus colony, of which we were so proud. You can google Maleny and Woolworths and find out all about our extended protest. Woolworths sucks.

Brynn's Charge

(2005) Graphite / acrylic / gold foil on board.

Brynn takes his duties as singing teacher for the birds very seriously. Training starts well before hatching, and allows parents time off while Brynn makes his first connections with the student. He is renowned for his exquisite singing and can often be seen leading a Dawn Chorus.

Green Tricorn

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / ink / gold foil / garnets on board

Swoon

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / tea on canvas

Visiting the Sunbirds

(2004) Graphite / acrylic on board

This work is the result of a convergence. A bunch of apparently random happenings happening to me in quick succession.I had been collecting Library books about birds nests and had been sketching them and building a human- sized nest in my garden hedge, and showing them to my friend, fellow artist Steve Thompson. At the same time, the Woolworths protesters in Maleny were being harassed by Woolworths to stay off the proposed building site and were loathe to leave the remaining trees unprotected.

I suggested to Steve that the protesters should build nests in the trees to occupy, and he proceeded to make a person sized nest (which occupied the site temporarily and then became a playground item at Crystal Waters Eco-Village).

While Steve was building the nest at my place, my sister came to visit from Kuranda with this gorgeous Sunbird nest as a gift for me. It just seemed an amazing coincidence to have these nests around me, and so I decided to paint a scene in which I could show the exquisite construction of the nest with its little porch roof.

My sister, Amanda and I also helped Steve with the construction of the big nest, which he had made using wire cable and old irrigation tubing.

Here's Steve trying it out for size before weaving the sides in.

Seff

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / ink / tea on board

Xelli's Belly

(2003) Acrylic on canvas

Wild Mountain Thyme

This is the band. The last ones to leave the party, and staying on until they can join in with the birds at Dawn Chorus before traipsing off across the fields to rest in snug, sheltered nests of dry grass and leaves. The party has taken place in a fairy ring of mushrooms in the fields up behind Crawfordjohn in Lanarkshire, Scotland, above the Duneaton River. The song is a traditional Scottish song welcoming the Summertime. The Summer nights are long and only fade to twilight for an hour or so before the sun starts rising again. Sometimes the sky is full of gorgeous waving sheets of colour from the Northern Lights - the Aurora Borealis.

(2003. Acrylic / graphite / gold foil on hardboard)

Celebrate the Egg

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / gold foil on board. 79 x 53cm

While the egg of itself is not the object of respect and celebration, the whole idea of potential and hope is represented in it, and any egg left unattended is likely to attract congratulation parties.

Sireana

(2003) Terracotta chalk / acrylic / graphite on mattboard. 90 x 70cm

When you blow out a candle, the light vacuum that ensues provides the energy source required by these beings for travel. Beautiful and harmless - indeed beneficial, they merely hover about the snuffed candle, serenely emanating peaceful energy, and sometimes singing just outside of hearing range.

Bless the Egg

(2004) Graphite / acrylic / gold foil on hardboard. 80 x 52cm.

Musicians Torinn and Linnanne anne are in contact with the as yet unhatched dragonling, Deena. She shows great promise as a gifted tunesmith - a very weighty and respected talent in Dragon Culture, where history is recorded mainly through balladry, poetry, song and dance.

Ovo

(2003) Graphite / acrylic / gold foil on hardboard. 109 x 72cm.

Occasionally Dragon eggs are taken into the care of Ovo, who fosters and adopts orphaned eggs and hatchlings, raising them as family. The elders help with the youngsters, and form a large clan of talented lore-bearers of both the Dragon and Elven traditions.

Yin Yang