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  • In the Quincan Country of Cape York Peninsula these birds are usually present. Sitting on a ridge top and looking across the gorge below I could hear in the distance the unmistakable call of Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. They came into view flying quite close but on seeing me veered off and sailed on down the gorge and disappeared from view.
  • In this painting of Australian Shelducks I have attempted to give an ‘old world’ look by adopting the chiaroscuro style of the old masters. It is a portarit of a male and a female and was inspired by being able to sit quite close to a pair in Kings Park in Perth WA where I could study the beauty of their plumage.
  • The Cassowary is the giant bird of the rainforest and can stand as tall as a human. The male is the guardian of his chicks and will defend them by leaping and kicking with both feet, each of which is armed with a dagger like claw.
  • Birds of Paradise have been a life-long passion and the Lesser Bird of Paradise is one of the most spectacular birds, particularly when a group of males are displaying by bouncing around in the top of a tree fanning and shimmering their flimsy golden plumes.
  • The Laughing Kookaburra is the world’s largest kingfisher and probably vies with the Emu for the title of the most popular Australian bird.
  • This painting was inspired by watching a gorgeous male Red-backed Wren hopping about in dead grass. The brilliant red and black of the male is complemented by the straw colour of the grass.
  • This is a place at Seal Rocks on the NSW coast near Myall Lakes National Park. The tide is low exposing the red weed that is hidden when the tide is in. As each wave breaks and rolls back to the sea the wet sand is left glistening and the morning light is reflected by the wet rocks.
  • Rainbow Lorikeets are boisterous noisy gangsters of the bird world but are spectacularly beautiful. Watching a flock speeding through the trees you wonder how they manage to avoid hitting a trunk.
  • The years spent living beside the Myall Lakes on the mid-north coast of NSW enabled me to get to know Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos very well.
  • In this painting I tried to capture a moment of connection between these two magnificent Wedgetailed Eagles. As there is no rock or branch joining them and with only air between them it had to be the “look” connecting them.
  • Grey-crowned Babblers are lovely active birds and a flock can often be located by its noisy calls.
  • The Bengal Clock Vine is a native of India and named for its habit of twining clockwise around any supporting stems. It is a spectacular plant that grows into the forest canopy and flowers frequently. The vigorous nature of this plant in gardens has meant that it has become a weed in some places.
  • This is where deep water comes close in to the headland and so waves swell up and spill over the rocks and then suck back down again rather than breaking further out and rolling into the shore. I have spent many hours fishing at this spot, but mostly when the sea was a little calmer.
  • An early morning walk along Bramston Beach was the inspiration for this painting. The sun was well above the horizon but still low enough to have light shining through the waves as they reared up ready to break. I love painting the wet sand where the water recedes after each wave.
  • This painting shows the southern end of Lighthouse Beach on the NSW coast. It is afternoon and the headland is throwing a shadow across the rocks and the sea below.
  • In India the word jungle refers to a drier thorny and often deciduous forest, rather than the lush wet rainforest that most people conjure up from that word. I have been fortunate enough to have had some close encounters with Tigers in India which has inspired many paintings.
  • This painting is from the channel country in south west Queensland, and was intended as a landscape only, but when finished it needed a touch of life, and so as I had seen an Emu with chicks in the area they were painted in and added some movement to the painting.
  • Guereza Colobus Monkeys are most spectacular with their white capes and tails flowing out as they make huge leaps from branch to branch or between trees.
  • The Golden Guinea Tree is a rather distinctive plant of the tropical lowlands. Its delicate bright yellow flowers and papery red bark make it a conspicous tree in the rainforest. The red flower-shaped fruits hold seeds enclosed in white fleshy arils, which are eaten by birds.
  • This picture came from a long lasting memory I have of a particular morning when camped on the Wharton Range in New Guinea. A male Princess Stephanie’s Bird of Paradise was jumping about in the top of a large tree growing on the edge of the forest below the camp site.
  • These wonderfully cryptic birds are real favourites of mine, so despite the intricacies of their feather patterns, I really enjoyed painting them. The Tawny Frogmouths colours blend so well with the bark and lichens on the Turpentine Tree that they can be easily overlooked.
  • This is a familiar sight where a fisherman has left the remains of his catch and it is swooped upon by the gulls. The bright low morning light on white birds is what really generated the idea for this painting and I found the interesting rocks in the background a joy to paint.
  • Rainbow Lorikeets are loveable gangsters of the bird world. They always seem to have a wicked look in their eye and I feel I have captured that character in this painting. The birds are depicted feeding from the flowers of Grass Tree in the morning sun on the moors at Myall Lakes.
  • Spotted Quail-thrushes are one of our most secretive birds. They favour grassy ridges in open eucalypt forest, especially where there is broken rocky ground. To escape notice they will steal away through the grass rather than fly. Males and females are similar although the male is more boldly marked.
  • The Lyrebird can be shy, and difficult to see, but its amazing mimicry of other birds and manmade sounds has been well documented. This painting shows a male searching for food amongst the debris on the forest floor.
  • The red and blue of Crimson Rosellas against the white and blue of the snow has been in my mind for many years but this is the first time I have painted the subject. I have shown the birds feeding on Briar Rose, one of their favourites.
  • On a smoke hazed afternoon, I watched as two species of cranes (Brolgas and Sarus Cranes) blended together in a feeding flock, as is often the case. This is interesting, as when they go to roost of an evening they separate into groups of their own species.
  • Our neighbour keeps us in eggs with her chickens which free range around the farm. I have always liked drawing poultry and most people find them attractive, so why not a painting?
  • Numbats are mostly solitary animals, so this female with a young is showing some protective aggession when a male has wandered into her home range. They have recently been reintroduced into a fenced Australian Wildlife Conservancy Property "Scotia" in NSW near the SA border.
  • This picture shows a male Red-tailed Black Cockatoo watching a female resting in a Weeping Melaleuca tree beside the Walsh River in north Queensland. I never tire of painting these birds, as they have such character and the bright red windows in the tail always look spectacular.
  • On one occasion, while in the north-west of Australia, I watched six species of finch coming to drink at the same waterhole. In this painting I have only used two species (Gouldian and Long-tailed) and added Crested Bronzewings to help with composition.
  • We see Platypus in the mountain creek, which runs through our property and have often watched them "duck diving" in the crystal clear water. I thought it would be nice to see them from another angle, and it allowed me to show the patterns of light dancing on the rocks below.
  • Victorias Riflebird is an Australian represenataive of the Birds of Paradise. This painting shows a young male displaying in the territory of an adult male who is about to chase him off.
  • Aftermath is a scene from a fire that ran for several weeks on Cape York Peninsula. I was particularly attracted to the lingering bright red coals that contarasted against the burnt forest and ashen soil.
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • Pigeons 2015
  • From Australian Parrots (1980)

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