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My interest in art was encouraged by my father - who was a student at the National Gallery School, Melbourne - in the days of Charles Wheeler and Paul Montford. When I was a child, he would always encourage me to draw and was very supportive of my efforts. However, it was not until later in life that I began to paint seriously.
A move to rural Seymour in 1980 gave me the time to pursue art more fully. I attended oil painting classes under Betty Parsons, painting the surrounding countryside; Avenel, Nagambie, Murchinson and the Goulburn River. During this time I also travelled to Melbourne attending classes at the then Council of Adult Education under Pat Shannon.
Returning to Melbourne in 1985, I attended classes at the Victorian Artists Society under the guidance of Ming MacKay who studied in the United Kingdom. It was from Ming that I learnt the value of good drawing and the beauty of the human form.
Ming MacKay, along with Margaret Lourey, are co-founders of the Pastel Society of Victoria of which I am a foundation member. I was fortunate to serve on the committee in its infancy.
I have been working with pastel for many years now but in recent times find I am enjoying alternating between oil painting with the pastel medium. My subject matter varies between portrait, landscape and the figure. I truly admire the works of Degas, Toulouse Lautrec and Mary Cassatt.