I have recently retired from operating my architectural studio after around 25 years. I am based in Hobart, Tasmania.
The prevailing method to communicate ideas and concepts in my architectural practice was through a visual medium, and within this my preferred method was always freehand drawing. It is natural that this method would extend to my interest in other visual arts.
I have been intermittently involved with various life drawing community groups for the last 30 years, and over the last 6 or so years have participated in a self-organised and self- managed group.
Over recent years my work has all been in pastel (Conte). I find that pastels enable me to have a greater control of density and predictability of colour and allow me to work intermittently, without the need to continually prepare and remix material. Greater care is required to keep the colours clean and fresh, and there are techniques that had to be learnt in the controlling and blending of colour on the page.
Having explored the use of pastel for a number of years, I am now pushing a few more boundaries and branching out into other media, initially oil painting and more recently recently water colour.
I love the strength of colour that oil painting enables, and the immediacy that using water colour brings.