An abstract painting with bright orange and red background of lattice and roses.

Contemporary landscapes, flower and still life paintings

Expressionist seascape at daybreak in winter after a storm celebrating sunlight through the clouds

Daybreak on a wintery Murrays Beach after a storm

Nothing beats a wintery early morning beach walk after a storm when the bright winter light is just breaking through clouds adding drama to the huge sky and beautiful glitter to the nearshore sea ripples. All this contrasts with the fury of the breaking waves and the cold. Exhilarating.

Acrylic on canvas

50cm x70cm

Floral still life with Firewheel Tree blossom and glass jug

A jug of fire

The Firewheel Tree - Stenocarpus sinuartus

The Firewheel Tree grows in rainforest between Nambucca on the NSW Mid North Coast to the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland. It’s a tall, slim tree growing to at least 40 meters in the wild so not a good garden tree.

But it looks so at home on South Brisbane streets giving the tall buildings on either side a feeling of scale.

I couldn’t resist cutting blossom for a jug, even though falling anthers made such a mess within a day.

Acrylic on canvas

70cm x 50cm

A painting of Murrays Beach with rocks and waves, and grass in the foreground under a blue sky.

Murrays in the morning

The rocks at the end of the steps between Murrays and Sawtell Beaches.

Acrylic on canvas

60cm x 60cm

A painting of a calm daybreak ocean under a stormy sky with dark clouds and bright sunshine.

A shining sea

The early morning sea on a dead calm day in winter when everything is crisp and bright through the clouds.

Acrylic on canvas

40cm x 50cm

A painting with Flannel Flowers, Billys Buttons, pink Kangaroo Paws and Eucalyptus in a white vase against a teal background.

A posy for my love

Flannel Flowers, Pink Kangaroo Paws, Billy’s Buttons and a touch of Eucalyptus.

Fun posy part of a series.

Acrylic on canvas

30cm x 40cm

A painting of a the Trapdoor Break off Boambee Headland with rocks in the foreground, greenish-blue ocean waves, and a cloudy sky.

Traps

The Trapdoor Break just off Boambee Headland

Acrylic on canvas

30cm x 40cm

Expressionist still life with golden wattle and red kangaroo paws

A posy for my love

Golden Wattle and Red Kangaroo paws

A golden glow. Fun posy part of a series. Wish I could grow them in Sawtell. Fun posy part of a series.

Acrylic on canvas

30cm x 40cm

View through littoral rainforest to Murrays Beach, Sawtell

Through to Murrays

You can’t get to the beach from most parts of Sawtell without walking through the littoral rainforest strip protecting the town.

Tuckeroo trees, Banksia and Pandanus are twisted and broken from the battering they frequently receive.

Acrylic on canvas

40 X 40 cms

Landscape view of Murrays Beach from Sawtell Headland celebrating the sky

Murrays from Sawtell Headland

Having just moved to Sawtell from the Gold Coast, walks along this New South Wales coast are fun, especially for the dogs we were looking after. The sky just keeps going.

Acrylic on canvas

40 X 40 cms

The Golden Penda Tree

Xanthostemon chrysanthus

The Golden Penda grows naturally in Queensland rainforests between Townsville and Cape York. It grows to about 15m in the wild and less in cultivation.

In the same family as our beautiful Eucalypts, the huge fluffy yellow flower clusters made up of showy anthers and lots of nectar attract wildlife of all sorts but are a special love of the lorikeets.

This beautiful tree is now used widely along the eastern seaboard in gardens and as street trees. Dwarf and other showy cultivars are available.

I couldn’t resist collecting them from my Gold Coast gardens when I lived there a few years ago. Shame they just don’t last in a vase.

Oil on canvas

92cm x 92cm

A still life painting of bright yellow Golden Penda flowers with curly green leaves in a blue vase on a yellow table with a shadow cast onto a mauve background.