To flourish is to thrive; pursuing a joyful life shaped by purpose and authenticity. Inspired by the Japanese phrase “Happiness is to hold flowers in both hands,” these oil paintings evoke abundance, balance, and presence, celebrating the vitality of the natural world and the quiet beauty of living fully in each moment.

Curious and sometimes unearthly, fungi are neither flora nor fauna and flourish in a world of their own. 

I have chosen to focus on their aesthetic appeal in this collection of works. The sinuous lines, the delicate blush of colour, the soft ephemeral nature of the fleshy cap are irresistibly sensual, and the neutral background serves to accentuate these elements. 

This series investigates the Eucalyptus, a genus which flourishes within Australia’s arid and fire-prone environments. I was inspired to learn how its leaves, which are lanceolate shaped and hang vertically, minimise water loss and sun damage. Using my hard-edge painting style, I have abstracted the long and narrow shape of the leaf, configuring its curved form and pointed ends into repetitive patterns that explore intersections of colour and tone. Arcs and curves defining the spatial arrangement provide a rhythmic flow.

My artworks explore the quiet vitality of wetlands where water and land meet in constant exchange.

Fragile ecologies shaped by evolving weather conditions and the progression of seasons over time bring together layered textures whilst the shifting patterns of light invite close attention to subtle changes.

Being never truly still, wetlands are a metaphor for the transient moments in nature, the fleeting aspects of my experiences and what endues and flourishes. 

I grew up with the bush nearby and my mum’s expansive garden as my playground.  Plants were always her thing; I just liked playing in the dirt. It wasn’t until I planted my own garden years later that I felt the pull at an almost cellular level.  An interdependent kinship perhaps attributable in part to the surprising amount of DNA we share with plants. Materially, these paintings exploit layering and transparency:  a memento of everyday experience where nature, built environment and domestic routine converge.

Australia’s native flora is a botanical wonder, yet its unique beauty has too often been dismissed as merely ‘scrub’. Through land clearing, disruption of fragile eco-systems and replacement with introduced plants, many native species struggle to flourish.