97cm x 131.5cm

With 25 hours I could get the whole day done With 25 hours I could be everything to everyone. If I just had 60 more minutes I know exactly what I’d do with it I’d stop for a second Take a big deep breath and…..

When I wrote 25 Hours with my co-writer Jay Knowles in Nashville my son was only three years old. I was travelling with him in tow, performing up to eight shows a week sometimes, not knowing I was heading towards burnout which would eventually lead to depression. I was a people pleaser and spent decades being everything for everyone. I never took any time for myself. Sadly, most women exist this way, until we learn that we are not superwoman. The song is a humorous look at this insane way of living, imaging if we could just have one more hour in the day, we’d actually choose to spend it on ourselves. I painted this quickly to capture the frenetic energy of a typical woman’s day. It’s like an aerial view of the chaos.

1040 x 1040mm

You gotta be real, you gotta be honest You gotta stand by her side and always defend her She needs to be loved, loved, loved, yeah you gotta do right by a woman You gotta be strong, you gotta be tender

Tender is a look into the emotion of tenderness and the different meanings of the word, which can be seen in positive or negative ways. When I wrote the song in Nashville, I was thinking about how much the world needs more sensitive men who know how to treat women with tenderness, and how important it is to be teaching our sons how to be tender. As I painted, the artwork surprised me, the blue over the softer pink started reflecting the darker side of tender (hurt) in parts. It then moved to the more loving, hopeful and vibrant side of tenderness in others. The work honours those sensitive and vulnerable parts in all of us. Hot pink brings powerful feminine energy, unyielding love, and hope. When we come together from a place of pure love, anything is possible.

924 x 624mm

You gotta be real, you gotta be honest You gotta stand by her side and always defend her She needs to be loved, loved, loved, yeah you gotta do right by a woman You gotta be strong, you gotta be tender

Tender is a look into the emotion of tenderness and the different meanings of the word, which can be seen in positive or negative ways. When I wrote the song in Nashville, I was thinking about how much the world needs more sensitive men who know how to treat women with tenderness, and how important it is to be teaching our sons how to be tender. As I painted, the artwork surprised me, the blue over the softer pink started reflecting the darker side of tender (hurt) in parts. It then moved to the more loving, hopeful and vibrant side of tenderness in others. The work honours those sensitive and vulnerable parts in all of us. Hot pink brings powerful feminine energy, unyielding love, and hope. When we come together from a place of pure love, anything is possible.

Acrylic on Plywood (96cm x 106cm) - White framed

Words, he’s got you believing you’ll never be more than those words You’re so far down you think their all that you deserve He tells you you’re stupid and he makes you feel so small But remember they are all just words.

This song came along after years of healing work around emotional abuse. Coercive control is something I have lived through and survived. The experience has made me extremely passionate about helping women free themselves from domestic violence and urging them to find their voice and use it. The song is an emotional conversation between a girlfriend and the victim experiencing the cruel words. I painted this from a slightly different angle, starting with layers and layers of muted colours, as if they’d lost their vibrancy. Then I tried to access all the anger I’d felt at times when I didn’t have a voice and projected it at the plywood. It was a frantic, aggressive explosion. It can be scary to take your power back, but then comes relief.

Acrylic on plywood White frame 60cm x 1200

I believe I belong, I belong With you I believe it I’ve never before felt such a strong feeling And I see this path we travel on Gets better as we go along Together we belong

This was my first duet with my darling husband Mark, which I wrote back in 2008, a few months after we started dating. I knew very quickly that we were a perfect fit, but it took Mark a bit longer to believe it. We’ve been together for sixteen happy years and we each love being with a partner who allows us to be ourselves. I adore plywood for all its gorgeous flaws. The markings in each of these undulating beings are completely original and stand alone but are completely compatible and comfortable together. They exude freedom and joy.

96.5cm x 131.5cm Acrylic on plywood

The woman is a healer There’s magic in her hands She’ll touch you and you’ll feel her But never understand where all that power comes from That secret sacred place The woman is amazing grace

I wrote this song many years ago with one of my favourite co-writers and a beautiful woman, Angela Kaset. It’s a timeless song and message. Sometimes you keep a song up your sleeve for years waiting for the right time to release it. That time is now. As I stood staring at my blank canvas, I decided to use something I rarely work with, a brush. I felt that soft strokes would allow me to capture the femininity and ethereal nature of the woman. I had planned to use other colours, but sometimes a painting is finished before you know it, knowing when to stop is part of the work too. I love her strength and her mystery.

97cm x 104cm Acrylic on Ply Unframed

And yet here I am before you now Still trying to get it right. That’s the story, that’s the story of my life.

This is my most requested song and the one which earned me a Golden Guitar for Female Vocalist of the Year in 2003. Last year I re-released it with a new verse and chorus, an update of where I am today.

It is literally the story of my life in about five minutes. Vibrant colour was important for this work, as my life has been very colourful and continues to be.

Love and joy play a huge part, but in the less noticeable, darker areas, control makes an appearance, a reminder of how far I have come. The blues, greens and sand colour signify the Bouddi Penninsula (GuriNgai Country), I draw my inspiration from the fauna, flora and ancient spirituality of the area – my home.

Acrylic on plywood 96cm x 104cm

Come on show yourself Don’t control yourself You’re so safe with me, open up open up I’ll put on kid gloves it’s ok Put your trust in me open up, open up, open up

‘Open Up’ is a about a woman imploring her partner to find the courage to let his guard down and trust her. It’s a very spirited, up-tempo song and the painting is the pay off, her ideal. She knows if he can just manage to open himself up to her, everything will be wonderful. The floral figure in the painting is wild and unruly and goes perfectly with the song. I can see it coming to life and moving when I hear the music. The colour black denotes the fear he feels about being exposed and vulnerable, but the purple and blue feels hopeful.

101cm x 101cm Acrylic on canvas White frame

I wanna be old and happy Surrounded by friends and family A little peace inside, a few laugh lines And the man I love still smiling at me. Singing and dancing Still taking some chances.

The idea for this joyful song and painting came from a dark place originally. The end of a long and abusive relationship. As I was leaving, he said: ‘You won’t be young and beautiful forever you know.’ As if that was somehow going to make me stay! My answer? ‘I don’t want to be young and beautiful forever, I want to be old and happy.’ The day I left, I saved my life. I freed myself. And my future changed. So once again, I set about making beauty from ugliness. As I painted, I imagined my twilight years, and saw vibrant colours, lots of joy, not a worry in the world. Peace. I gravitated to my favourite fluro pink and orange for femininity and joy, and purples for spirituality. There is a little darkness in the blues to represent the past. Had I stayed, this painting would look very different.

Acrylic on Plywood (97cm x 131.5cm)

Acrylic on plywood 96cm x 104cm White Frame

Said he’d had his share of heartaches And made every kind of dumb mistake And in a moment I was falling for this guy I had found a man who’s man enough to cry

This work was painted after writing my song for my husband and partner of sixteen years, Mark Gable. I was inspired by our first date, which was delightful. He spent the night telling me everything that was wrong with him. His courage, humour and complete authenticity had me falling in love with him by the end of dinner. Prior to that I had chosen men with huge and fragile egos who presented perfectly but were monsters behind their masks. I played the song as I painted and hoped to capture Mark’s vulnerability with the blue tones. But you can’t have vulnerability without strength and that comes through the layers underneath, which are darker, strong and grounding. There’s playfulness and joy in the orange and his sensitivity, his more feminine side comes through is the tinges of purple. And of course, there are tears.

Acrylic on Plywood (97cm x 104cm)

And we’d rise and we’d fall
And somehow, we loved each other through it all. And some things we let wash away And some things we will carry to the sea We’re a deep river, deep river you and me.

This song and painting was inspired by my relationship with my mother. It’s a complex one. The most challenging of my life. Yet I love her, still. This painting tells the story of the effects of intergenerational trauma and captures the essence of our relationship, very black and white, deep, sometimes murky, but there are moments where the lights comes in. I painted with black on plywood very lightly, barely touching it. The heavy plywood never moved, as stubborn as trauma itself. What showed up through the black marks were the shadows. I used to live in them, but now I live more in the shallows, where there is light.