‘Bluebird’ (2022), 120cm x 120cm / 47”x 47” acrylic on canvas, charcoal, oil pastel. pen. (Tasmanian oak frame). This painting was inspired by one of my favourite contemporary classical composers, Alexis Ffrench. It was a perfect autumn day in my studio as I stared at a blank canvas when his song “Bluebird” came on. Ffrench has described this piece of music as “an expression of love and hope… born out of improvisation.” He said he created it to counter all the trauma in the world, to “share a moment of calm, beauty and consolation.” I tried to channel that same desire, for I feel it too, and want to express it in my own way.