About Me

Hi there,

I’m Mandy, a painter of vibrant expressive art.  This way of painting has really enriched my life.  I hope it will do the same for you. 

I was born in England into an arty family, both my parents were artists and my sister became an artist too. I remember drawing intricate mandala style patterns from an early age and my most prized possessions were my felt tipped pens. Then like many others, as I grew up, I decided I wasn’t any good at art. I went into a career in health and kept my creative endeavours in the background.

  

I moved to Australia in my early 20’s and I am still amazed at this country. It feels like paradise to me. The colours are so rich and the nature is so varied and beautiful.

Several years ago, I realised I was telling myself a story that I wasn’t an artist.  My sister is.  My parents were, but not me.  I decided to challenge those old ideas and take my art more seriously.  I began a deep dive into learning. A turning point for me was when I joined my friend and brilliant artist Jody Graham’s drawing course. This took me on a journey of both self-discovery and joy, and making art became essential to my life.

Whilst I enjoyed drawing, my love of colour and pattern and texture drew me to painting as I explored and learned more. I was painting representational pieces but I daydreamed about moving to more abstract work.

Then I had a fall and broke my right (dominant) wrist really badly and had to have surgery. Whilst recovering, I needed to be creative, it had become a daily release, focus and expression. 

All I had available to me was my left hand.  Like I said, I “needed” to paint, so I did. Of course, I didn’t have the same dexterity in my left hand so I decided to try painting abstract. This really was a sanity saver for me.  I seemed to be able to just let go of doing anything perfectly and just play, use colour, try out different things. What an amazing experience this turned out to be!

I realised that though I love representational work, when I see and paint abstract, I feel it in my body. I have an emotional reaction to the feel of the painting.

My work is inspired by nature in all its glory with its riotous colours, amazing textures and fascinating patterns.  I live in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney and I’m surrounded by trees and birds and blue sky.  I’m also a regular visitor to Bondi and Bronte beaches where the sea calls to me and the colours of the ocean inspire me every time. I need that regular connection with the ocean and I’m blessed to have it.  

I am moved to paint the essence, the sense of something, like the spaciousness of the ocean or the vibrancy of a sunset. I paint how it feels or how I feel when I experience the beauty around me. 

My creative process

 

This is ever changing as I continue to learn and develop.

 

I love to use acrylic paint, collage at times, various texture making products, pastels, ink, and sometimes oils.

I use paint brushes and palette knives, my fingers, cloths, rollers, sponges, scrapers, spray bottles, and anything that I can make a mark with like twigs, pronged instruments, and tools with an edge.

An inspiration arrives from nature or a photograph or something I have seen somewhere. This becomes my next series. I usually paint around ten paintings in a series, some of which I may discard in the end.

 

Using a reference image which could have been abstracted from a larger photograph to enable me to have a sense of a composition, often informs the painting.

 

I may start with several layers of loose paint, marks and texture before addressing the actual composition. Once I have a sense of the composition, I may move away from the reference image and use the painting process to create a more abstracted expression of what inspired me

 

I usually give myself a restricted colour palette for cohesion. If I am working on a series, it often has the same colour palette throughout.

 

I like the depth of lots of layers. I feel like the painting has its own hidden story, its own history of coming to life. Sometimes I write words or phrases on the under layers that have meaning to me connected with the particular piece.

Listening to music helps me relax.  I have also had fun painting an expression of the music I am listening to.

My style is varied and there are some common elements. I often use gold because of its luxuriousness. I use black ink in lines around or through a painting and of course my love of vibrant colour takes centre place in all of my work.