As a child I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where creativity was fostered and encouraged. As such, drawing and painting have always played an important role in my day to day life. Over time, my engagement with drawing and painting developed from producing or representing an object to become a creative escape where I can think and contemplate.

Last year I was lucky enough to be able to fulfil my dream of painting my way round the world. Like many travellers, I snapped thousands of photos over the course of my adventure. However, rather than a series of instagrams or forgotten memoirs, what became more valuable to me was the opportunity to observe and capture these new environments through a collection of in situ paintings. When I look back at the collection of sketches I am transported right back to the origin of the painting; the entire experience is evoked rather than simply the view. I began to fully appreciate the power of painting beyond representation - utilising it as process or tool for taking the time to pause, contemplate and observe. 

With the world becoming increasingly digitalised and everything becoming more and more instantaneous, I believe it is important to take a moment to slow down, pause and watch the world go by, even if only for as little as twenty minutes each day. I was keen to integrate painting into my everyday routine and with so many places to explore on near Walker Street I decided to go wandering at lunchtime or after work. I would sit in different places, taking the time to observe the beauty of these surroundings and capture them in a series of paintings. 

As a creative it is often all to easy to get caught up in the detail and precision of the outcome. My time painting has helped me to slow down, observe the views which I took for granted every day, and generate an expressive outcome. It is an opportunity to enter a different way of thinking and contemplation and reset. Painting can be a creative escape for the mind and I’m sure to never leave the house without my paints and brushes.

The following images are a selection of paintings created over the past month.