"I am a quintessential abstract expressionist"

I live in the Noosa hinterlands on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia.

My childhood was spent surrounded by the open plains of western New South Wales.  For the last fifteen years, painting and teaching has occupied an increasing larger part of my time. 

For me the main purpose of abstraction is not to tell a story, but to encourage involvement and imagination. This art form is mostly about providing its viewers with an intangible and emotional experience – more often than not, the experience is completely different for every individual depending on their personality and state of mind.

Abstract paintings can also be appreciated in terms of the individual elements of art: colour, shape, line, texture, space, value, etc. As an abstract artist my skills lie in my ability to use colours and textures to their best visual strength and to create a sound composition from these elements.

I ask my viewers to let the painting reach out to you. Free your mind of any other thoughts, give it a little time and simply let the painting convey its intended emotion to you. Observe the colours and textures. What do they make you feel?

 Jackson Pollock said, “Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you.” Let the painting ask the questions instead of the other way around.

I begin with expressive linear marks using oil sticks, caran dache crayons, ink washes and ArtGraf. Depending on how I feel at the time, my marks can be quick, expressive and/or fluid. I like to respond to emotional experiences and feelings to get those marks down first. I may then cut, arrange and collage those immediate tones and marks.  It is only towards the end of a painting that formal elements come to the forefront: colour relationships, line, shapes, texture, pattern, depth and content. It is after these formal considerations that I connect my visual vocabulary to specific features of my experience

My intention is to capture fragments of my history, whether it be fleeting moments in time or emotional experiences. Working in this way evokes emotions which I endeavour to carry through to the following layers.  These marks may disappear as the work progresses however, it is important to me that the history is there. I build on these beginnings by applying many layers of texture, scratched expressive marks which begin to confront me.  

"Painting the reality of the mind in wax and oils, is my mantra".  Nothing is purer than that.  What explodes on these panels are only available here and now. It is not a copy of anything. It is my authentic truth. 

Each painting is a surprise. Even though my art has an abundance of visual texture, the final pieces are surprisingly smooth. 

I love working with wax because of its exquisite ability to unify the work from its beginning through to its end. As I work the surface, I am continually engaging in a visual conversation with myself, exploring themes about the ebb and flow of my life, keeping the beginning marks sometimes visible but obscuring them with the layers that follow. It is only towards the end of a painting I am  evaluating the balance and energy, form and content.

What an inspiration you are! the one day workshop in cold wax art was fabulous.  Every moment was excruciatingly, fabulously, informative, deliciously experimental, and total fun. You are so generous with your teaching style. What an amazing amount of talent, skill and knowledge you have... and what a refreshing teaching space you've created. And thanks for that grand morning tea...wow! I am very keen to continue doing whatever workshops I can with you. That one day dissolved my fear of working with oils and cold wax. Thanks a million. Helen W  

Fabulous workshop, best I've ever done. Learnt so much & had fun at the same time. Merridy Hope King

Holy shiznicks, I've just been christened into the world of encaustic by Cheryl McGannon in one of her 2 day workshops. She is a master of the medium and had me at the words "blow torch and melted beeswax"!!! I've a long way to go to experiment with this medium and decide how to incorporate it into my work, I am so grateful to have been introduced to it. Cheryl teaches workshops at her oasis of a studio in Doonan and is a highly sought after Qld artist. She is a flaming legend!!!! Book yourself in!  Amica Whincop Art.

 Thanks so much Cheryl! I think you challenged us, but not having time to think too much was good for me and stopped me from becoming too tight and precious. 

It was more about learning the process, materials and techniques and learning about creating and expressing through an abstract work which was just what I wanted to learn. It was an immersion and I really enjoyed that. 
 My training long ago was in classical realism but in recent years I've been drawn more and more to abstract works, and that freedom to experiment was great for me.
I loved the cold wax oil combo. Have never really painted in oils. It was great trying the pure pigments and all the oil papers. The oil papers are amazing how they didn't even need taping to a board like watercolour. 
I really loved the weekend. Thank you and Dennis so much. The other gals were lovely too. 
Thanks so much again. 
Kindest regards,
Carmel 

Intaglio Printmaking refers to a printing method in which the printing elements are all below the plate surface, having been cut, scratched, engraved, or etched into the plate to form ink-retaining grooves.

I offer Introductory and Intermediate Courses in different forms of Intaglio Printmaking including Etching & Photopolymer.

2 day course – 9.20am – 4.00pm

Etching as a process was developed as a quicker, looser, less labour intensive alternative to engraving.  An image could be drawn through a wax ground, and the corrosive action of acid used to etch the lines into the metal plates.

My Introduction to Etching courses allow participants to work on their own zinc/copper/aluminum plates, experiment first with hard ground and soft ground, then adding tone using aquatint techniques.

Participants will print examples of each of these processes and leave with these prints and their plates.