End of the beginning

2023 New Years Eve. As I sit on Bell’s Beach in Australia listening to the waves crash, surfers waiting to catch their next wave and the occasional passing beach wander, I reflect on this year. It was an unexpected destination today. Some of this year was like that too. The deep background roar behind the […]

September 4th

On this day, a long time ago, long before I was born, a baby boy was born. He would be the big brother, protector and strong tower. Not so much because of his height, but more because of his heart for people. He was a dad and a granddad to a granddaughter he would never […]

m i c h a e l

Repost…with just over 4 months before I’m back at this date again…3 years later after writing this, and after 3 of the toughest years to get back to a new kind of “normal”. I smile thinking of you. How will this years date be navigated? Watch this space… Each year today comes around. It’s not […]

T h e A c c u s e r

**Edited and reposted When I started painting this work I was exploring composition, layout, colour, facial expression and foreshortening. Generally speaking, I had no idea what this would look like as I begun working on it. It took about 2 years to complete once painting started. I usually have several paintings going at the one […]

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Miss your face brother of mine, but I know you are waiting. Don’t eat all the cake before I get there.

A N Z A C

This is a photo of my Grandfather. He was an Anzac. His name is written in one of the Anzac books that line the entire outer inner corridors of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia. You get your name in there as one of the men and women who fought in the First World […]

K I N T S U G I R O S E

“And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:15 Kintsugi Rose continues the concept of Japanese bowl repair. It resonates in some of the artworks that I am developing at the moment that explores God’s repair of the broken. How our bodies […]

p e t e r

It’s Easter Friday. Jesus’ trial was the swiftest in history. He is crucified and buried before the end of the day as the Jewish Sabbath fast approaches. This watercolour and gouache painting is inspired by the mostly unknown painting by Swiss artists Eugène Burnand. It is a painting that depicts the incredible expressions on the […]

b r o k e n

“as I sit in my car after viewing the RONE exhibition at the Geelong Gallery, I find myself literally contemplating my life and the what next. I am returning to work in 3 days and I can’t think of anything worse.” WOAH.. I found this quote sitting alone in this blog post. How so much […]

S E E D E D H E A R T

This heart started as a response to the parable of the Sower and Mustard Seed parable that can be found in the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Matthew it proceeds the Parable of the Sower. In Mark, Jesus Calms the Storm is the next account in the chapter and in Luke Jesus follows […]

F L O U R I S H

Flourish is the second heart, following on from last weeks Seeded Heart. Flourish is a depiction of a healthy heart. It is nourished, thriving, beautiful, brave, vibrant, and full of life that streams of living water pour out of. As this artwork developed the choices of plants were mostly intentional. The white lily is often […]

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This year’s milestone is one that I would never have asked for. Actually each year, month, week, day, hour, minute, breath….you get the idea. As I start to write this in July for later this year I am concious that this has been in the back of my thoughts more than any other year since […]

w a y m a k e r

Waymaker is an artwork that has developed over the last Month or so inbetween other works that have developed in the studio. As the church announced their next series on prayer, I realised why this image has taken some time to work on. It’s larger scale having something to do with it, but also more […]

t o m b

As I have processed the Easter season over the last few weeks this image came to mind. I was also challanged by doing an Easter image that didn’t include the “usual” imagery. This is where “t o m b” comes into being. Just as I can’t see baby Jesus at Christmas without seeing the cross, […]

p r i d e v t r u t h

Studio time today had me completing this work I started yesterday, already having insight into how it could look when finished, but not knowing for sure until it was finished. Each week for me this time in the studio is reflecting on prayer. Church today, through worshipping in song and worshipping through the word feeds […]