Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / How may ancient Hebrew texts be presented to a contemporary audience, remaining faithful to the original and at the same time relevant yet timeless? I am painting four series of watercolours, each focussing on a particular Australian habitat. These artworks form decorative borders to the four biblical texts of Lamentations, Ruth, Ecclesiastes and Esther, four of the Jewish Scrolls, and act as visual metaphors of underlying themes and indicators of structure and literary devices. My research is into the texts themselves, reading and responding to them; into natural subjects that express my response; and into the art-making process from which the final artworks are created. The end product of my research is an exhibition of these watercolour works and an A4-sized book combining the complete printed text of the Scrolls in the English Standard Version (ESV) as I have formatted it, with my illustrations as border designs. My aim is that through the manuscripts’ overall design, I honour the authors’ literary artistry, including symmetry, acrostic and reversal. Through my choice of subjects for each illustration, I aim to suggest themes in the adjoining text.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / How may ancient Hebrew texts be presented to a contemporary audience, remaining faithful to the original and at the same time relevant yet timeless? I am painting four series of watercolours, each focussing on a particular Australian habitat. These artworks form decorative borders to the four biblical texts of Lamentations, Ruth, Ecclesiastes and Esther, four of the Jewish Scrolls, and act as visual metaphors of underlying themes and indicators of structure and literary devices. My research is into the texts themselves, reading and responding to them; into natural subjects that express my response; and into the art-making process from which the final artworks are created. The end product of my research is an exhibition of these watercolour works and an A4-sized book combining the complete printed text of the Scrolls in the English Standard Version (ESV) as I have formatted it, with my illustrations as border designs. My aim is that through the manuscripts’ overall design, I honour the authors’ literary artistry, including symmetry, acrostic and reversal. Through my choice of subjects for each illustration, I aim to suggest themes in the adjoining text.

The relationship with nature through art has been explored as a two fold bond. The first considers a relationship with nature via art and science, where the history and contemporary application of scientific illustration in art is explored; while the second explores past and present connections with nature via art and the landscape, particularly the panoramic tradition. Historically these relationships have predominately been about dominating nature, mans dominion over the land. Science was seen as the only authority, while our relationships with the land in art, positioned the viewer at a commanding distance above and over the land, as seen in the post colonial panoramic tradition. In contrast, -The Coorong Series- explores a lived history with nature rather than the historical role of dominance. -The Coorong Series" explores a relationship of knowledge, understanding, and the experience of nature; through two parts. The first combines art and science in -The Coorong Specimen Series', to explore the facts and knowledge that science has provided about certain plants, birds and marine life from the Coorong. Inspiration has been derived from 19thC scientific illustrations and the lyrical prints of the Coorong by Australian Artist John Olsen. Part two explores the immersive experience of the iconic landscape in ???The Coorong Landscape Series" providing a relationship that seeks to understand the functionality of the location and to celebrate the unique beauty of this diverse region. Inspiration has been gained from the landscapes by l8th and 19th C artists John Constable and Claude Monet, along with landscapes by contemporary artists, John Walker and Mandy Martin. Through aesthetic notions such as scientific illustration, panoramic landscape, immersive scale, the collection of work, an expressionistic use of paint, and labeling of each piece like a museum display. -The Coorong landscape series" provides an exploration of a region that immerses the viewer in an experience of the location. The series portrays a relationship with nature through art that educates the viewer about The Coorong region. Connections are made between the land, birds, plants, fish, and human interaction; which results in an ecological consideration of the Coorong. Ultimately it is the educational experience that art provides allowing the viewer to explore a plethora of relationships within nature, and to explore how these relationships have changed or continue to exist within this era.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Art History, Dec. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.C.A.-Res.)--University of Wollongong, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 49-54.