Leda's swan and the devil's ivy Painting

"Art is a huge part of my life and when I am not creating pieces, I am thinking about my projects on the go and the next ones that will emerge. My paintings are an extension of my internal chatter about the state of the world, big, beautiful, bold with an urgent need to establish and maintain balance and equity. These are not meant to be preachy and viewers can take as much, or as little of the story within as they choose. Some of my pieces are just for the beauty of the subject. I am influenced by the genre of still life and the use of everyday objects to relay moments in time. For me those objects are often flowers and leaves from my garden and found vessels such as antique vases, jars and tin cans. There is a large flock of yellow tail black cockatoos that visit my garden most days and break off chunks and branches of trees and plants, particularly their favourite banksias. These are often the pieces in my paintings. I use objects that have a shine to encourage reflection and shadows – where secrets are made and kept. I am always happy to talk to viewers about the stories woven through my work though am also happy if they just like the piece and see what they choose. I must say though, I love the idea that some buyers have my paintings hanging in their home for the aesthetic without knowing that it is a call to action to care for our environment." Deeply connected to the natural environment and social landscapes, Sigrid Patterson is an Australian artist painting in the still life genre using oils and acrylics. Based in the hinterland of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, Sigrid lives on a small acreage surrounded by her ever expanding native gardens and wildlife habitat. Many of her paintings use the treasures from her garden to create pieces that incorporate the quirky Australian landscapes of woody nuts and cones, delicate petals, spiky leaves and seemingly chaotic stamens. These pieces extended the concept of floriography – the ancient art of storytelling with flowers – where she weaves meaning throughout her works often with the use of reflective surfaces, moody backgrounds or shadows. Following on from the extremities of climate change, catastrophic bushfires and floods in Australia, Sigrid’s work hold stories about the need for us all to listen and learn from Traditional Custodians about caring for the environment. Another of her series shows hybrid flowers consisting of several different species.