Spatial Memory Series
Spatial Memory series
These paintings are meditations on shadow and form that hint at architectural possibilities and hazy recollections of places and spaces, like a glitch in our visual memory bank. My interest in how memories of a place or space can feel both vivid and also visually indistinct, much like the recollection of a dream can, is explored in this series of paintings. You can interpret them in the way that feels significant for you, because I’m sure it’s probably very different from their significance to me.
I originally created these as a whole series, with two different sizes of painting. However, I’ve ended up entering different ones into various exhibitions and competitions, so they are appearing ‘out in the wild’ in dribs and drabs. Having said that, they do all represent one group of work.
This is an ongoing series that I enjoying developing, and more pieces will be added to this page as they become available.
In The End
Spatial Memory 2 was a finalist in the Wellington Regional Arts Review, Arising has been selected as a finalist in the Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for painting and drawing, Spatial Memory 1 has been selected as a finalist in the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize, and another five of these paintings are part of a joint exhibition in January/February at Muse Art Gallery called Ghost in the Machine.
I’m really proud of these paintings - and I must admit I don’t always feel quite so good about everything I create. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed bringing them into existence. I had a lot of fun with them. They are all painted on natural linen, with deep narrow aluminium frames in a nickel coloured finish. They are ready to hang and each one comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Click on the painting titles below to read more about each painting and see prices, dimensions, and detailed images. These are a little tricky to photograph, so it’s worth taking a look at the detailed images if you can’t see the work in person, they will give you a good feel for the subtleties of these paintings:
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
463 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting plays with perceptions of three dimensions, and suggested shadows and forms, with quite a lot of artistic licence thrown in. I enjoy creating this sort of abstract composition, where people can interpret things in their own way. I see a door to the outside, you probably see something different.
The stripes are a reference to the shadows cast by the balustrade on the deck outside where I paint. And the other dark shapes come from shadows around the buildings nearby.
This painting is currently available to view/purchase at Muse Art Gallery.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
463 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
When life is feeling a bit chaotic I channel control into my art, usually resulting in precision (and that gives me a great deal of satisfaction!). . . . . but this painting was a conscious effort to let go. Traces of my usual detail remain, but also playful chaos. And no, that’s all paint, no tape left on there — so perhaps it’s not quite as spontaneous as it looks, but it was really fun to create - and to play with a different type of illusion.
Unfinished Business has been shortlisted for the Walker&Hall Waiheke Art Prize. It will be exhibited at Waiheke Art Gallery from 18th October - 8th December 2024.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
1205 x 255mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Suggestions of shadows, forms and the built environment.
This painting reminds me of home - sky, native bush backdrop, clouds moving quickly in the wind, shadows on the house and in the dense bush, and the odd little bit of colour in the garden.
It can be hung in either orientation, up to you - my intention was to create something that could fit tricky spaces like the end of a narrow hallway, or a gap beside a doorway.
Earth has been selected as a finalist in the Wellington Regional Arts Review 2024 - it is available in the exhibition at Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt from 7 September - 17 November 2024.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
463 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
When I paint I am continually turning the painting around in order to work on different areas. This painting is actually a modified version of a smaller one I created a little while ago, and the idea for this one came from looking at the other painting in an orientation that it wasn’t intended to have. Because of the way I see these darker areas as shadows, that painting morphed and I saw totally different forms in it - so I used that as the basis for this one, in which I see a house on a hill (a very abstract one that is!).
I’ve included an image of it in a vertical orientation. I like it hanging this way too, but there’s no house to be seen in this orientation - well, not to me anyway!
Contact me if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
462 x 615mm (including frame)
2024
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Suggestions of shadows, forms and the built environment.
Currently on view (and available to buy) at Cashmere Lounge Restaurant and Bar, Khandallah, Wellington
This painting was part of the exhibition ‘What you see is what you see’ at Quiet Dog Gallery in Nelson.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
462 x 615mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Suggestions of shadows, forms and the built environment.
Currently on view (and available to buy) at Cashmere Lounge Restaurant and Bar, Khandallah, Wellington
This painting was part of the exhibition ‘What you see is what you see’ at Quiet Dog Gallery in Nelson.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
1205 x 255mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Suggestions of shadows, forms and the built environment.
This painting was in the exhibition “What you see is what you see” at Quiet Dog Gallery in Nelson. Contact the gallery to purchase this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
464 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Balance is part of my Spatial Memory series. You can read a bit more about the inspiration behind this ongoing series here.
This painting references shadows from built spaces and also the surroundings of my home and studio - trees and native bush and a few flowers. It conjures up memories of sitting out on the deck, in the sunshine, listening to all the native birds around us.
The colours not only reflect my garden, but they remind me of my grandmother - a pale dusky purple colour was one of her favourites and she often made herself dresses in that shade. That colour brings back nice memories for me, I find it soothing - balancing!
And if you are wondering about those stripes - they are inspired by the shadows cast by the balustrade on the deck.
Balance was part of the “Interior Dialogues’ exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North. Contact Muse if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
467 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting is part of the Ghost in the Machine exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North, January 10th - February 9th 2023.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
463 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
I know - that’s a weird title! But let me explain where it comes from.
When our kids were both pre-schoolers, we had an alarm clock which would either beep to wake you, or play a recorded sound. We recorded our children telling us to wake up (in the way that only small children can do!). The eldest spoke clearly into the microphone, the youngest YELLED after him (as he was prone to doing!!) which is reflected in the upper and lower case font. We kept that sound on our alarm clock for many years, until one day it was accidentally recorded over, much to my dismay. But it is now indelibly etched on my memory and is a bit of a family joke.
The ‘sunrise’ type area of the painting, and the harsh shock of red in the top right corner, makes me think of ‘wake up time’. You might not even see the sunrise in it at all, and that’s ok with me - but this was the basis for the title.
This painting was selected as a finalist in the Walker & Hall Waiheke Art Award 2023.
Currently available at Muse Art Gallery, online and in Havelock North. Contact Muse here.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
462 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Suggestions of shadows, forms and the built environment. Peeks of colour and close up texture.
This painting was in the exhibition “Interior Dialogues’ at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North. Contact Muse if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
414 x 310mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
The Spatial Memory series of paintings are representations of hazy memories of spaces and places. They are about the way that memory becomes fractured, in the same way that dreams often cannot be fully recalled in detail. Memory of the feelings are often strong but the visual details are hazy.
Spatial Memory 1 was shortlisted for the Craig’s Aspiring Art Prize 2023.
This painting was in the exhibition “Interior Dialogues’ at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North. Contact Muse if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
467 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting was part of the Ghost in the Machine exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North, January 10th - February 9th 2023.
Contact me if you are interested in viewing or purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
414 x 310mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting will be exhibited in the Wellington Regional Arts Review 2022 exhibition, from 3rd December 2022 - 26th February 2023. This is a bi-annual exhibition held every two years, with prizes awarded for the top artworks in a wide range of media. The exhibition is at Whirinake Whare Taonga, 836 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
414 x 310mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting received an Honourable Mention in the Art Matters 6 online exhibition open call, by Gallery Biesenbach in Germany, 2022.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
462 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Arising was a finalist in the 2023 Molly Morpeth Canaday Award for painting and drawing.
This is part of my Spatial Memory series. You can read a bit more about this ongoing series here.
This painting is currently in the exhibition “Interior Dialogues’ at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North. Contact Muse if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
414 x 310mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
From my ongoing Spatial Memory series. You can read a bit about the inspiration behind this series on paintings here.
This paintings currently in the exhibition “Interior Dialogues’ at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North. Contact Muse if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
467 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting is part of the Ghost in the Machine exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North, January 10th - February 9th 2023.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
467 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting is part of the Ghost in the Machine exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North, January 10th - February 9th 2023.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
467 x 615mm (including frame)
2022
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
This painting is part of the Ghost in the Machine exhibition at Muse Art Gallery in Havelock North, January 10th - February 9th 2023.
Acrylic on linen on board
Anodised aluminium frame
463 x 616mm (including frame)
2023
Protected with an archival UV varnish
Signed and dated on the back, ready to hang
Exploring shadows and forms in the built environment, and hazy memories of a place. This is another painting in which I’ve enjoyed playing with suggestions of three dimensions.
Like the others in this series, there are areas of texture which become more obvious as you get closer to the artwork, a feature which gives it added depth and interest. Check out the detail images to get a better idea of what I mean.
This painting is currently available to view/purchase at Muse Art Gallery.