I have probably always dabbled around with art. Apart from the usual childhood drawings I have worked in the commercial art field for IBM, Canberra College of Advanced Education (now University of Canberra) and the Australian National University.

Way back in the 1980s I joined the Central Queensland Contemporary Art group in Rockhampton and had the good luck to go to workshops with some excellent tutors including Irene Amos, Roy Jackson, Janet Laurence, Rod Milgate, Fred Cress, Bela Ivanyi, Max Miller and Elisabeth Cummings.

From 1990 to 2003 I circumnavigated the world with my husband, John, on the yacht Burramys. It wasn’t until we sailed into the Mediterranean Sea that I discovered the pleasure of travel sketching – so my sketchbook and watercolours accompanied me ashore in many countries.

By the time we had arrived back in Australia I realised that I had spent around 20 years being a kid, 20 years bringing up kids (Les, Peter and David) and 20 years cruising – it was time for an ‘art change’ so as soon as we were settled back home in Rockhampton I enrolled in TAFE and completed a Diploma in Visual Art with a major in printmaking, followed by graduating with a degree in Fine Art in 2016 through Curtin University.

I currently work from my studio at home in Mapleton and have been part of the Open Studios program run by Arts Connect Inc. I belong to the Maleny Printmakers and the Maleny Art and Craft Group, so between the three art groups I have plenty to keep me busy and have also met a lot of wonderful people.

My art is media driven and I’m quite happy switching from one to the other. I enjoy painting, but on the other hand I also enjoy the discipline of printmaking or the endless possibilities of photography. Recently I completed one of those ‘left brain, right brain’ online tests, and guess what – 50:50 rational to imagination – so I guess that explains a lot. Thematically my works revolve around the natural environment and at times I feel my dressmaker mother is looking over my shoulder when more feminine aspects involving clothing and handstitching appear, evoking memories of the past.