I’m very appreciative of the many commission clients I’ve had recently who’ve been on board with indulging my penchant for concept, allowing me to explore dimensions beyond straightforward traditional portraiture within the pieces I’m creating for them, much as I do in my conceptual work for exhibition.

‘A Little Bird Told Me’ chronicles the special bond between young siblings, Zara and Eve. Birds have developed into an integral part of my work over the last few years, so in this work I employed particular feathered fellow, a native Australian Red-Capped Robin, as the operative device and the origin of the shared secrets whispered between to his two little friends.

It’s always been important to me to tell a story, express an idea, or pose a question within my work – to engage a union of cognition and emotional response that can expand and enhance the viewer’s perception of each piece, provoke thoughts and feelings that encompass and linger. It’s that factor in which I seek satisfaction at the end of every project, not the execution of detail (my hands take care of that on their own these days). It’s only when I feel all the conceptual devices are balanced and telling their part of of the tale that I’m ready to put down my brush.

So when I stood back from this piece at the end and a smile came unbidden at the almost palpable connection between little Zara and Eve, their unique personalities and the sense of warmth that came from being allowed a glimpse into their shared world, that was when I allowed myself to put down my brushes after 142hrs wielding them in search of that moment.

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