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Asia has been an important foundation of my art career. I lived in Hong Kong and Singapore for seven years and traveled to Thailand, Bali, Malaysia, Vietnam and China. I taught art classes in Hong Kong in Central and in Discovery Bay on Lantau Island. I enjoyed meeting like minded people – both Chinese and expatriates. I quickly developed a client base and began selling a lot of works in Hong Kong and Singapore. Asian Flora was my main theme. I had never seen such dynamic and brilliant colours and shapes of the Asian flowering plants. I jogged every morning to the Botanical Gardens and watched the water lilies opening in the warm early morning air sitting peacefully on the glassy pond. Then I would occasionally walk around the Orchid Garden – a lush surrounding housing over 20,000 species of rare and beautiful orchids. The frangipani stand was amazing, old twisted frangipani trees in every colour possible, dropping flowers and creating a blanket of colour over the damp vivid green grass. The first Asian Flora series was inspired by the Botanical Gardens and was titled ‘Tropical Shadows’. The colours are so bold in Asia due to the different and intense light and deep shadows. I painted the vibrant heliconia flowers hanging lazily against the shadowy green plants focusing on the contrasting colours, shadows and light. I couldn’t paint enough and had my next abstract show in the Raffles Hotel at Art Folio Gallery. This show was received very well. After a while my travels took me back to Australia and I began painting different themes but I will always have a love and deep connection with the flora in Asia.
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