Poetry- and text-based paintings

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"Waiting at the doors". 2021. 11x15, acrylic and mixed media on paper. NFS.

I followed a meditative process that led me to paint this door, and concluded the process by creating an accompanying poem (below).

At last, the doors are visible;
A journey of endurance to reach them.
Simple doors: worn, yet loved,
A portal for commune with light and each other.
Who waits on the other side?
Or, what waits?
A door can lead the mind to wander...
There is a barrier to penetrate, after all.
But, wait - is the door itself 'the place'?
Where the blessing is in the watching and waiting?
We could collapse here now.
The wind has died down, the children's laughter reaches us.
The sun is setting gently, the birds quieting for rest.
The struggle can end, for now;
This part of the journey concludes.
Tomorrow, wake with wonder,
Let the fight wrestle elsewhere,
Let your mind watch and wait,
For the door brings passage to delight.

“Sisters”. 2021. 11x15 inches. Mixed media acrylic on paper. SOLD

This piece is an ode to the many inspiring and supportive women in my life and the world. To begin, I wrote a poem (below) and then drew the poem onto the paper using a stick. Those letters and words then became ‘shape guides’ to which I responded with layering and mark-making, until these three women emerged.

Wild; masked but free, tussled hair
She faces you; the world.
Her cat perched, a part of her,
Gazing imminently; He sees you.
Is that defiance? Or love’s fierceness?
Comfortable in herself, too hard to label,
Though the world pastes its words onto her skin.
She’s occupied with bigger things,
Stencilled into her fabric.
Ladders, boxes and shapes,
All bouncing and galloping towards her,
Like society’s little quirks,
Small only by comparison to her coiffure and floating heart.

“Filters”. 2020. 16x20 in. Mixed media acrylic on canvas. $150 (price not including tax and shipping).

This painting is inspired by trees, sunlight, artist Jennie Bell and artist/activist Richard Bell. First I wrote out Richard Bell’s theorem - the part about paternalism - and pasted onto the canvas. Bell’s theorem is a must-read if you haven’t yet:

“The paternalism and social engineering of the old colonial regimes are cynically matched and even surpassed by the new postcolonial ones...
Now. Ask yourself what you believe. Then what you think the average punter believes. And don’t Bullshit.”

Grounding in the knowledge and reality of being a guest of sorts on Indigenous land - here and at home - I proceeded to paint shape and colour, inspired by the leaves and light by my window, until the canvas showed me the tree forms to paint. I soaked pieces of paper into gesso onto the canvas to give the leaves more shape, and played some more.

I created this piece during my virtual hangouts with mum Jennie Bell, something we started after COVID led to our long term separation.