May Newsletter
Hi Artlovers,
I’m writing a little early this month to give you a heads-up that my Print Shop will be closed from June to August while I’m painting in Honolulu.
As a small thank you before I go, all prints are reduced by 50% for the rest of May. You can view the Print Shop here: (View prints here)
In other news, when I return from this year’s Hawaii stint, I’ll be permanently shifting the studio out of North Melbourne and up the Yarra River to the Warburton property. The studio renovation is far from finished, but it’s watertight and usable for throwing paint around while I continue building.
I’m very reluctant to leave my amazing North Melbourne studio, but the property is calling for me to be there full time, both to care for it properly and to keep being inspired by the wonder of it all.
Speaking of inspiration, there are a few new pieces directly connected to the Warburton property.
I hope you enjoy the new works, and the rest of your weekend.
~ Mandy
‘Riverkeeper’, 40cm x 90cm, acrylic on canvas
‘Riverkeeper’ depicts an old oak tree on the banks of the Upper Yarra River, turning gold and signalling the arrival of autumn and the coming of winter. I’m drawn to the ways nature quietly marks the passage of time, and this particular tree feels like it has witnessed many seasons and stories. Its broad canopy offers shelter while opening in places to reveal glimpses of the river beyond.
The work was created through layered applications of paint and collage, echoing the textures and shifting depth of the landscape itself. Some areas were carefully masked, while others were built up through layered materials and surface experimentation.
‘Down by Snakey Shed’, 65cm x 40cm, acrylic on canvas
‘Down by Snakey Shed’ refers to a part of my garden where the firewood is stored in what has become known as the “snakey shed” (because if I were a snake I’d probably enjoy living there among the wood piles). The scene depicts the stream that runs past the shed and into the Yarra, and the river maple in it’s glory red/phase as a mark of autumn and signalling the coming of Winter. It is the first tree to do so, and is also the last to come out of dormancy in Spring.
‘Floracene’, 76cm x 76cm, acrylic on curved corner canvas
‘Floracene’ imagines a world overtaken by bloom, colour, and organic drift. Inspired by geological era names such as the Anthropocene, the title suggests a speculative floral age where plant forms dissolve into atmosphere, memory, and abstraction. Layers of translucent colour, floating botanical fragments, and biomorphic forms merge into a living ecology, part garden, part dreamscape, part microscopic universe. The work moves between representation and abstraction, evoking nature in a constant state of transformation.