I want to provide you with a little insight into my creative process and my life in the studio on the Mornington Peninsula.

When I’m working I always surround myself with things I love that kindle my creative energy – colourful toys, fairy-tale castles, plants, sketches and snippets, essential oils and lots of notepads for ideas. I also immerse myself with constant sound, music, movies or podcasts.

Inspiration can strike at any time – randomly from an experience, an image or a colour I catch around me, often when I least expect it. If I don’t stop and write at least a note or take a photo, the spark can escape as quickly as it arrives – I feel like it floats away, somewhere into the back of my mind. That’s why I always take the time to record those  moments of inspiration .

Sometimes ideas come from my daily surroundings. For example, at the end of my street is a long narrow cypress tree – I see it every day as I come and go from home. Behind the cypress is the horizon where the sky meets the sea. The colours are constantly changing, from the silhouette of the cypress against a blazing orange-coral sky,  to the muted mauve of the sea in the early morning. 

I often  catch a glimpse of the tiny yachts, from the local club, drifting between the trees on the bay on the weekend – for me these things are a constant inspiration.

My garden too is both a retreat and a task master. The changing seasons and colour palette is subline. My chickens wander when out on a sunny day, and I love their various quirky characteristics, their colour and textures…there are so many  things that I find can bring to my creative process .

My studio sits proudly  in a rambling garden, of Edna Walling design, one of Australia’s most influential garden designers, from the 1800 to the 1970’s. My husband and I built the studio ourselves to complement the nature of our tiny cottage, which is modelled after the English arts and crafts movement .

The studio was a labour of love and my very first purpose-built studio, after having worked for years in makeshift studios in garages and storage facilities. I was hands on grinding the flecked concrete floor, and painting and sanding. 

My husband and I built me my dream Gothic door, bending the wood and building it from old reclaimed timber. The lock is medieval and imported from England with a magnificent old key, which is too big to lose (thankfully)! We also found some small ruby glass stars in a demolished house, which we used to accent the door.

My work desk looks over the view between the houses to the ever-changing bay. It reminds me of the paintings I always admired of Ken Done’s studio in Sydney, with the bay in view. I feel very lucky every day when I gaze out that window.

It’s my place and I have added all my own touches. I have even carved my name “’Gerry”’ into the concrete slab, with a stick when the concrete was poured. One of the highlights  is the glow in the dark stones which I threw into the mix when pouring the concrete, they light  up when it gets dark and  never cease to bring a smile to my face and bring a touch of magic to the studio in the evenings.

Of course, my pride and joy is my purpose built press, built for me by Melbourne Etching Supplies. I also have an impossibly huge industrial drying rack for my linocuts, which I never thought I would ever fill, but of course do . Finally, a moveable table with glass slabs serves as a palette and an ink rolling area. Large map draws hold my editions.

These art cards are a lovely collection featuring eighteen images of my work, both linocut and oil painting.

I was taken by another Artist ‘s cards when I was at university, and although I could not afford to purchase some work I could buy a card and frame it which seemed a wonderful idea.

I am planning a new line soon and indeed I do know that many people have framed them.

They are bright, bold and beautiful and are a great gift idea .

The cards are all made in Australia and I was involved with the printing process myself, I am really proud of the quality and I hope you enjoy them.

Linocut has always been my absolute favourite printmaking technique. I first attempted in year seven. At the time, I was of course consumed by the love of horses and all things “horsey “, so my first linocut image was running horses in a field.

What I loved above linocut was that it was so graphic and direct, and not at all fiddly like etching. It felt to me a natural complimentary practice to my style of painting 

The broad strokes and bold expression you could achieve was amazing, and when studying art history, I was immediately drawn to the German expressionist printmakers who were experts in this style, although mostly black and white, they seemed to have a emotive feel which resonated with my style and I fell in love with the medium. 

When talking to many clients it is a wonderful thing it is to speak to so many people who as children in Australia did linocuts at school and remember it, usually with fond memories!

I use the reduction method for my linocuts.  I use this method to create an increasingly detailed image with the same block, by the process of elimination. 

One piece of lino (powdered cork, resin and linseed oil, backed and glued onto burlap hessian),

Is glued onto a board which I have cut to size.

It is a process working from lightest colour to darkest colour.

Many planning sketches and designs are done until I am happy with my design and colours. 

I then transfer my desired image onto the lino, I cut out any areas that are to remain white and print my first colour on all editions, for example light citrus yellow.

When done I then cut away all areas that I wish to remain yellow and then print up my next colour for example light green.

Next after they are done, I cut away all areas I wish to remain green, and so on for all remaining colours, the process being repeated until there is only the areas of the last colour left on the block -usually a warm or cool black.

Every lino cut can take me many weeks of work 

I can use up to a dozen colours of my oil-based ink.

It has taken me a long time and a lot of trial and error to work out what suits my work, trying many ink variations and techniques.

The end result can be very textural and expressive.