About her Art
I studied for several years in Florence in Accademia delle belle arti di Firenze. During this
time I also received a scholarship to study at the Russian Academy of Art, Florence, where I
studied advanced drawing and painting (still life, portrait, and composition) with some of the
greatest Russian contemporary professors. I then studied with Charles Cecil at Charles
H.Cecil studios during which time I learned the principles of Sight-size drawing and painting in
relation to portrait and figure. Charles Cecil has been a great influence and inspiration in
studying the narrative and composition techniques of Classical Western art. Independently,
during and following my academic studies, I spent many hours in museums of Florence and
Rome, drawing from antique and Renaissance busts and sculptures and studying Old Master
paintings. Following the completion of my studies in Italy, I am now based in Albany, where my
partner, Ron and I have built a studio to pursue our passion for our art. Since my return I
practice professionally in three genres of still life/floral, landscape and with particular emphasis
in portrait/narrative painting. My portrait/narrative paintings are also influenced by the PreRaphaelites whose paintings I have come to admire in Australian museums with their emphasis
on poetry, story-telling and mood. Like the Pre-Raphaelites I enjoy bringing my passion and
experience of traditional art to contemporary audiences. I also have a Masters degree in English
Literature, which has helped develop my imaginative capacities and the rich heritage of
literature is an infinite source of inspiration. My oil painting technical skills include Alla Prima
(wet in wet), palette knife techniques and mainly traditional/academic indirect, layered
approaches which include glazing and scumbling. In drawing I use a range of media such as
sepia, charcoal, pastel, pen and ink and mixed media. As I continue to develop my skills with
traditional techniques, I find this opens up new possibilities to develop my own inner visions.
Last year I also had the honour of being invited and exhibited alongside some of my favorite
contemporary classical artists in New York at Paul Calendrillo’s Gallery. For the past three and
a half years I have successfully exhibited and sold my work to a wide clientele in Australia and
abroad and have carried out a number of private commissions.
