My focus is not to mirror nature but to distil the essence or energy of places, to explore contrasting moods, recurring patterns, shapes, spaces and colours. I hope my paintings reflect my concerns for the wilder places of Aotearoa and convey a sense of awe and appreciation. I began painting when living on Rakiura, and my work has always engaged with the environment and conservation themes. Over recent years I have been working on several series of paintings: Rakiura, Coastal Icons, South Coast, and Whakapapa. Exhibiting in group and solo shows. Having lived on both sides of Foveaux Strait, I’ve developed a deep connection to this area of wild winds, dramatic skies and spectacular coastal landscapes. The south coast also has a calm and incredibly serene side – a place of contrasts and contradictions that I find fascinating. While I am a Southlander now, I grew up and was educated in Auckland and spent family holidays in Northland where my paternal grandmothers family originated from. My paternal grandfather was from Orepuki in Southland so we are very much a North/South family. I have been painting a series of Whakapapa paintings for several years now and the most recent was a set of 8 paintings depicting an early chapter in the lives of my great, great, great grandparents, who traveled from Kororareka in the far north to Port Pegasus in the deep south in 1826 to build a ship. Tiraha and William Cook were the founding couple of our large Pakeha/Maori whanau & they had such adventuresome lives that I seek to document what I know of them, in paintings and a family book – an ongoing project.