Visual artworks inspired by nature.
My story
As an emerging artist my journey has certainly not been in a straight line. As a teenager I filled countless sketchbooks and was always doodling during classes. I decided against pursuing a career in the arts on the theory that I didn’t want to ruin my passion by turning it into work. Instead I followed my love of the natural environment and studied Biodiversity and Park Management.
While my sketchbook took a back seat over the course of many years, often replaced with a camera for bird photography, like many others I found myself deep in the hobby again in 2020 as a means of unwinding from stressful days at work. I rediscovered my love of colour pencils and dove head-first into creating realistic depictions of my pets and birds that I had photographed. In late 2022 the opportunity arose to study a Diploma of Visual Arts, which I grabbed onto with both hands.
Learning the visual arts has been an eye opener, and the joy that I had for printmaking in high school was rediscovered and I leaned into it, filling my sketchbook with potential block designs. I enjoy exploring new mediums and techniques and discovered the benefit of community art spaces, where one can inspire and be inspired by other like-minded people. I am now in the last semester of my diploma and look forward to having the time to fully unleash my creativity.
The inspiration
Part of my joy in art is the connection that it brings with nature. Sometimes I like to reproduce what I see in high detail as a way of admiring and studying it, it’s easy to lose track of time while detailing areas of fur or feathers. Other times I try to express the feeling or impression that an animal gives when you see it in the wild, which is usually where my print making comes in.
I’m not only fortunate to be able to create art of the things that I love the most, but creating wildlife art means I also get outside to view nature more. Taking my own reference photos wherever possible is just part of the process for me, if I’m not out there viewing it, it’s harder to be inspired by it.
Wildlife conservation is very important to me, and I hope that my work can foster connections between people and nature.
