Today I begin this blog with my first post about my painting.

There is of course a lengthy backstory or history, however I don’t intend to traverse it now.

Perhaps I will say that there are two or three enduring themes.

 I was aware very early that I loved to draw and paint. I knew this possibly around the age of eight or nine and I knew that I had the ability and that I could draw or paint anything. Then I was encouraged and taught firstly by my dear and amazing artist aunt, later by my superb art teacher Nancy Bracey.

I also knew early on from the family trips to Ruapuke and Raglan beaches that the grey/black iron sands and black rocks fascinated me and, the intense and dramatic colours of the ocean and headlands attracted my attention for years and years. But there was a long incubation time for visions of Raglan to emerge and now it is a constant pool of images that I can call on.

I paint those features in most of my paintings even when I set out to paint other subjects Raglan features appear or emerge.

That’s it for now.