About Me

With my Adult Art class at The Blue Studio I was encouraged to organise overseas Art 'Draw & Paint' Workshops in both Cumbria UK and at Matisse's Villa in Vence, France.
At both venues I  booked the group in for one week at the Manor House /Villa and in conjunction with tourist activities and exploration, drawing and painting sessions were included and art work was developed throughout the week. It was a cultural exploration of the areas through art with self catering accommodation full of history and a fantastic experience for all who joined the tour.
IMAGES below L-R : Cumbria - Red How Manor; artists drawing in Cumbria; Matisse's Villa, Vence; and painting in Matisse's garden.

In 2016  with the help and support of the Rural City of Wangaratta and the Wangaratta Art Gallery I came up with the idea to develop an Art Event in conjunction with the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues. 
PAINT PRESTO was an outdoor painting experience that challenged artists to paint or draw from the community in just one day. The program consisted of a rapid Painting Day creating a picture from start to finish, followed by an Exhibition Day. The completed work was exhibited and available for sale and judged by artists such as Internationally acclaimed Australian artist Wendy Sharpe and Sydney artist Vanessa Ashcroft. The artists painting on the street and in music venues added another dimension to the arts on display in Wangaratta over this popular festival weekend. The event was popular with both artists and festival patrons as it developed and grew in both 2017 & 2018. 

I was thrilled when I was allowed to go to Barcelona to work with Spain's living legend, artist Jesus Villalonga, living and working in his studio as his assistant. This involved helping him with all aspects of his current work from screen printing gessoed panels with his patterns using gouache, developing his drawings, painting his patterns onto sections of his figures, learning to accurately draw hands, sewing his garment designs for a special event and chasing supplies in the bowels of old Barcelona. It was a fantastic experience with a generous and lovely 85yr old master which I will never forget. I would liken it to a sabbatical as I had no Spanish and found myself sequestered in the minature attic of his studio ceiling for over 6 weeks. So my exploration of Barcelona was extensive.
IMAGES below L-R : Villalonga studio ground floor,  in the studio with Villalonga, demonstrating the burnishing tool on the finished work,
and the magical interior of Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.

In 2006, as Art Domain Leader and VCE Art teacher I introduced a Studio Arts Europe Study Tour for my Year 12 students over the first term holidays. The aim of the tour was to give country students the opportunity to experience and research first hand famous works of art & places and to meet international artists, attend workshops and a series of lectures. London, Paris, Rome, Florence & Milan were visited in tours ranging from 15 - 21 days. Also on the schedule were visits to Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey, Harrods, Vatican City, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and various fashion houses to name a few. The students loved the experience and and despite the immense amount of work and organisation it took to develop these tours and all programming it was very rewarding working and travelling with these young adults and giving them this opportunity to see amazing cultures and international art history.
IMAGES below L-R : 2006 - students with Zandra Rhodes; in front of the Louvre; 2008 - tour of the Coloseum; students tour in the Louvre; and in Paris;  2010 - the teachers version of the 'Charlie Angels' pose; students at Trafalgar Square; and visiting the Eiffel Tower.