Documentation of the study : M.F.A. programme 1981-1982, Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania

My paintings up until 1977 were large abstract expressionist works based on the various kinds of colours, rhythms and textures found in the fencing combinations used to isolate one part of suburbia from another, i.e. wooden palings, brick, and corrugated iron of many colours. Sketches of this subject matter formed the foundation for the colour. The forms were then pushed around to let the colours and shapes create their own boundaries. It meant destroying some forms or amplifying others to come up with the end result - an arrangement that was unified. Each part of the surface was intended to enhance the other parts. Towards March 1977, the work was up against a brick wall, literally, and was not evolving. There seemed to be two choices, quit painting or start all over again.