Be Still and Listen…

You know those times when you just stop, be still and listen. You can hear the earth singing! This is one of my favourite places, Punakaiki on the West Coast of the South Island, a good place just to slow down and stop, breathe into the silence….. watching the late sun sink into the sea.… Continue reading Be Still and Listen…

Disempowerment!

Vulnerability and hopelessness descended on me as I watched helplessly as fire engulfed our power shed a couple of weeks ago… We’d had a week of dreadful weather and a team of builders onsite so the generator had kicked in to give the solar batteries a boost when the lights began to flicker and the… Continue reading Disempowerment!

Embrace the Mystery!

Some of the places you have to go to do painting commissions are pretty cool, and this is up there as one of them! Tulum Playa, Mexico…. Putting my feet up after walking the beach, 5k each way in the baking heat! It’s the weed season straight in from the USA apparently…. and it’s turtle… Continue reading Embrace the Mystery!

Empowered!

The Vagra is a powerful symbol in the Buddhist world as the diamond thunderbolt of wisdom that cuts through ignorance in a flash of light – The Vagra handles of the newly installed power station at Ngahere Hou represent a great way to open the doors to our new solar power I think! Our place… Continue reading Empowered!

We’ve got plans!

Our house plans have gone to Council and now we wait to get started on the build! Hugh Tennent is our architect and he’s done a brilliant job in bringing our dream to realisation. Our vision to live lightly on our beautiful land, in a small but spacious and sustainably off the grid home looks… Continue reading We’ve got plans!

Going Home

Another commission has found its way home! It’s a painting of Woodpecker Bay on the wild the West Coast, one of my most sacred places where my spirit flies free in the mountains, the wind and sea. Although I only lived there four years it was a time that really shaped me, where I felt… Continue reading Going Home

Nature’s Heart

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – John Muir It’s why I’m inspired to paint! The feeling of completing the cycle, from inspiration in the wilderness, the long conversations and a sense of place,… Continue reading Nature’s Heart

The Big Blue

A few days spent in the McKenzie Basin is enough to widen your horizons,  …….and fill your heart with awe and wonder – both day and night.  “I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful – an endless prospect of magic and wonder.” — Ansel Adams Staying at the brand new Lakestone Lodge was just as magical… Continue reading The Big Blue

Unintended consequences

Places that changed my life: A few years ago, with a group of neighbours, I spent 8 days on the yacht called the ‘Breaksea Girl’ travelling through the Fiordland National Park in the World Heritage Area. We went from Doubtful to Dusky Sound. Sailing through these majestic waterways which included a stint on the Southern Ocean. Sailing with a… Continue reading Unintended consequences