The Hunger Inside

The Hunger Inside is an ongoing series of abstract paintings exploring longing, connection and the search for meaning. Created through an intuitive process of gesture and mark-making, each work evolves without a predetermined outcome, allowing unexpected relationships to emerge.

The series was significantly influenced by my participation in the Heart and Soul Art Group at Richmind, where I worked under artist-in-residence David Giles. His encouragement to paint with freedom, intuition and authenticity helped shape the expressive language of this body of work while allowing me to develop my own artistic voice. Learn more about David’s work at  https://www.davidgilesartgallery⁠.com

This painting reflects the jarring dissonance of the city—the noise, movement and stress of Perth’s streets. Curving lines, abrupt shapes and competing colours create a sense of constant motion, as though different fragments of the urban environment are colliding at once. Rather than depicting the city literally, the work captures the restless feeling of being surrounded by its rhythms, pressures and sensory overload.

City explores the hidden rhythms that hold urban life together. Rather than depicting streets and buildings directly, the painting maps the experience of movement, connection and change through colour and gesture. Intersecting lines become roads, neighbourhoods and pathways, while layered forms suggest the constant flow of people, ideas and memory. The city emerges not as a place seen from above, but as something felt from within.

Flight captures the calm, weightless sensation of being carried through the air. Its floating forms suggest the effortless movement of a bird soaring above the landscape, where the world below begins to appear ordered and interconnected. The painting reflects on flight as an ancient natural phenomenon and on the beauty and freedom of seeing the earth from above.

Flight explores the joy of movement and the freedom of imagination. Sweeping forms drift across the canvas like currents of air, finding balance through colour, rhythm and line. Created at HeArt and Soul, the painting reflects my belief that abstraction can express a sense of hope and possibility without describing a single place or object. Each shape seems to respond to the next, suggesting that even in apparent chaos there is harmony waiting to emerge.

Swirlies explores the repeating patterns found throughout nature and the way those patterns can emerge instinctively through art. Its spiralling forms suggest growth, movement and natural rhythms, recalling structures found in plants, shells, weather systems and galaxies. The painting reflects the idea that human creativity is itself part of nature, shaped by the same tendencies toward pattern, repetition and connection that surround us.

Swirlies explores the restless movement of thought and emotion through flowing lines and spiralling forms. Painted intuitively during a HeART & Soul session at Richmind with artist David Giles, the work embraces play, spontaneity and discovery. The repeated spirals suggest that our inner lives are rarely linear; they return, grow and connect, transforming uncertainty into rhythm and colour.

Reflections of the Inner Child explores the childlike spirit that remains within every person. At the centre of the composition, a spiral suggests the form of an unborn baby, symbolising innocence, growth and the enduring presence of our inner child. The mirrored forms reflect the dialogue between our younger and adult selves, inviting contemplation of memory, identity and emotional healing.

The painting was inspired in part by my involvement with the Heart and Soul Art Group at Richmind, where artist-in-residence David Giles encouraged participants to reconnect with the creativity and honesty of the inner child. Through expressive abstraction, the work reflects the belief that self-discovery begins by listening to the quiet, intuitive part of ourselves that never truly disappears.

The spiral suggests the form of an unborn child—a simple pattern becoming a symbol of life, growth and possibility. Reflected across the canvas, these forms connect human life with the surrounding landscape, suggesting that we are part of a larger natural order. “As above, so below”: life mirrors life, and pattern becomes meaning through reflection.

This painting suggests serpents in an unborn state, beautiful and vulnerable yet carrying the potential to become something dangerous. Their bright, almost confectionery colours recall jube lollies in a jar—tempting to look at, but not truly nourishing. Like the warning colours of a redback spider, their beauty attracts attention while also signalling caution. The work explores the uneasy relationship between temptation, danger and the things that may grow from small beginnings.

Jubes and Snakes explores the simple hunger for sweets while playfully reflecting on the nature of temptation. The flowing, candy-like forms suggest colourful lollies, while the snake recalls the timeless symbolism of desire and the choices we make. Although the work acknowledges that some pleasures can be “bad for you,” it does so with humour, reminding us that temptation is often wrapped in something bright, attractive and enjoyable.

UFO Beach explores the mystery that exists within the ordinary landscape. Balancing representation and abstraction, the painting reflects humanity’s desire to look beyond what is immediately visible. The “UFO” is not a literal object, but a symbol of curiosity, wonder and the search for meaning. Like the Heart and Soul and The Hunger Inside series, the work invites viewers to contemplate the unseen connections between the physical world and the spiritual life.

The Surfer explores the search for balance within the constant movement of life. Painted intuitively at HeART & Soul, Richmind, with artist David Giles, the figure of the surfer emerges from flowing lines and waves, becoming part of the landscape rather than separate from it. The work suggests that the hunger inside is not always something to overcome, but something to learn to ride with courage, trust and play. Like the sea itself, our inner lives are always changing, and peace is found not in stillness alone, but in moving with the current.

Clear and Bright reflects moments of peace and clarity that emerge after periods of uncertainty. Flowing lines move freely across the surface, suggesting thoughts and emotions finding harmony and direction. Part of The Hunger Inside series, the painting celebrates the quiet joy of seeing life with renewed hope, where simplicity, movement and colour become expressions of inner renewal.

The Beast draws inspiration from the expressive colour and energetic brushwork of Fauvism, whose name originated from the French term les fauves (“the wild beasts”). The title reflects both this artistic influence and the untamed emotions that exist within us. Through instinctive mark-making and bold abstraction, the painting explores the tension between inner chaos and creative expression, suggesting that confronting the “beast” within can become a path towards self-understanding and transformation.