
oil on linen panel
36h x 36w in
91.44h x 91.44w cm
melt013
$ 15,000
oil on linen panel
36h x 36w in
91.44h x 91.44w cm
melt013
$ 15,000
oil on cradled birch panel
36h x 36w in
91.44h x 91.44w cm
melt019
$ 4,900
oil and cold wax on cradled birch
24h x 24w in
60.96h x 60.96w cm
melt014
$ 3,500
oil on linen panel
12h x 9w in
30.48h x 22.86w cm
melt015
$ 2,000
oil on linen panel
12h x 12w in
30.48h x 30.48w cm
melt004
$2,800
oil on linen panel
24h x 48w in
60.96h x 121.92w cm
melt008
$ 12,000
oil on linen panel
48h x 64w in
121.92h x 162.56w cm
melt009
SOLD
oil on linen panel
36h x 64w in
91.44h x 162.56w cm
melt011
SOLD
oil on canvas panel
26h x 26w in
66.04h x 66.04w cm
melt012
$ 9,900
oil on linen panel
12h x 12w in
30.48h x 30.48w cm
melt005
$ 2,800
oil on linen panel
48h x 28w in
121.92h x 71.12w cm
melt016
$ 14,000
oil on linen panel
9h x 12w in
22.86h x 30.48w cm
melt017
$ 2,000
oil on linen panel
48h x 48w in
121.92h x 121.92w cm
melt018
$ 18,000
oil on canvas panel
24h x 48w in
60.96h x 121.92w cm
melt003
$ 14,000
I’ve been observing and painting birds for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Australia, I was always surrounded by parrots, cockatoos, and many other colorful and noisy species. As a shy, creative child, bird watching became a natural pastime. My earliest books were about birds, and I still have them. The brand of tea that my parents drank came with collectible cards depicting the birds of the world, and I eagerly collected them all. One of my earliest commissions was a drawing of a friend’s pet sulfur-crested cockatoo. I’ve always kept bird species lists wherever we lived, happily noting each new sighting. For a time, I volunteered with an organization that banded tiny migratory shore birds on the southern end of their journeys to and from the Arctic. Holding such delicate but intrepid birds in my hands was an amazing experience. When I began painting full time in 1992, I naturally turned to birds for inspiration. My first entry in the 1992 Wildlife Art Society of Australasia annual exhibition, a water bird, won an award. I painted Australian birds until 2000, when I brought my bird and wildlife paintings to the USA and gradually diversified into Western subjects.
After thirty years of exploring a wide range of living things in paint, it seems fitting to celebrate this anniversary of my beginnings by flying full circle back to my first love – painting birds. I’m approaching them with the same admiration for their beauty and diversity, but with fresh ideas on how to present them. Minimal abstract backgrounds and simple, elegant frames allow each species to display their finest attributes. Whether familiar garden friends or exotic species from far off lands, each one brings the wonder and beauty of the natural world into our lives. These paintings are timeless, modern classics which I hope will delight for generations.