I studied visual art and literature (alongside a bit of science and mathematics) at University to earn a BA/BTch and have and continue to work as a Secondary School Teacher. I took an extended break in the middle to learn how to grow up by watching two small humans do it. During this time I also started freelance illustrating and art-making; participating in several exhibitions, commercial and educational projects as well as working towards the imminent publication of my first picture book, 'How Big is the Sky' (working title) due to hit shelves mid 2025 (Affirm Press).  I also write a newsletter called 'Outsider' which explores this whole notion that everything we want is on the other side of something we don't. It's mostly made up of art and anecdotes (both humourous and inspirational) from the outdoors.

 

Growing up amid conifer-clad mountainsides and sprawling orchards woven between the freshwater lakes of British Columbia, Canada, I, like every child, took it all for granted. Now I live pressed up against the expanse of the Pacific Ocean, next to a eucalypt and palm studded National Park and I am trying, as any adult should, to be grateful for it. No matter how far I meander from my childhood home, the wilderness and the simplicity of small-town living pumps through my veins and I find myself navigating the tangled mess that is adulting and parenting in a 21st century global, consumer-drenched, media-infused world with the bewildered posture of someone who has just stumbled out of the woods. I don't mind that. The older (and some may argue wiser) I get, the more I want to live like a well-loved hermit and the less I want to scramble my way up the tower of possessions and accolades.

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At any rate, that's the kind of heart you'll find in each of my artworks, books or newsletters. The heart of someone who is trying to find out what is essential and how to live more deeply for this vapour of a moment we call life. I think I'm a realist, at least I'm learning to accept reality as it is, not as I wish it could be and I think that doing hard things is a discipline that all the wisest, mosst content and interesting people practice. 

 

I am open to inquiries for art and illustration.

Especially if it's along the lines of landscape, naturey stuff, mythology, cartography, geography, astronomy, history, science, food, neurodiversity,  inclusivity and equality, psychology, wellbeing/mental health, sustainability, anti-consumerism, running/hiking, camping, adventure, etc, etc, etc.​

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Exhibition stuff and "credentials" (cos in some situations it's still important):
2020 Reconnected: A Recovery Story (Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie - yapang)

2020 Blackstone Works on Paper Prize - finalist (Blackstone Gallery)
2021 Hunter Emerging Art Prize - finalist (Newcastle Art Space)

2022 Open Studios artist exhibition (Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie - yapang)

2022 - 40 Under 40 (group show - Newcastle Art Space)

2023 - 'Unframed' (group show - Newcastle Art Space)

Publication: 
2021 'Slippery, Slimy, Feathered and Furred' for Hunter Writer's Centre - illustrator
2025 (upcoming) - 'How Big is the Sky' (working title) with Affirm Press - author/illustrator

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(Some) Public commissions and projects:

2019 Artwork for Lake Macquarie Living Smart Festival

2020 Mural for Yoga Place Cafe, Blacksmiths

2020 Artwork for Lake Macquarie Living Smart Festival

2021 6-wall mural for Macquarie College, Wallsend

2021 Artwork for Lake Macquarie Living Smart Festival​
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ABN: 59 689 321 571