Charles-Alexander Leseuer was one of the Artists on the Nicholas Baudin expedition to Australia(1801-1803), his depiction of the wildlife, landscapes and people throughout the expedition were extraordinary. After viewing an exhibition of work from the Baudin expedition at the South Australian maritime museum, I was particularly taken with his watercolours of fish and sea creatures and resolved to look further into his work and respond to it in a contemporary manner.

This body of work was inspired by a beautiful watercolour and pencil scientific illustration of a tiny leather jacket fish, which was exhibited at the South Australian Maritime Museum. It was part of a body of work which had not been seen in Australia produced by artists on the Baudin Expedition to Australia 1800-1804. I was amazed at the quality of the painting, the detail, recognising that the work was made while sitting in a moving sailing ship.I began by making small works copying Lesueur, then moved on to producing my own small watercolours then larger works using the technique of Nature Printing/ Gyotaku.This is one of the earliest forms of botanical/ scientific printing where a relatively flat object is inked, paper is placed on top and then the image is transferred by hand or press, some areas would then be drawn and coloured by hand. Gyotaku was done in the same manner by Japanese fishers, inking fish and sea creatures and transferring the image to paper, recording their catch either as a means of publicising what fish they might have for sale, hanging the prints in the rigging of their boats or sometimes as a more competitive, samurai fishing competition. These works are printed on Japanese paper, some handmade by me in Japan.

My art practice has been located in the concept of journey for quite a few years, often the journey by sea, using physical journeys by boat, Mallee, and the desert to make work and in turn to make work in the studio about these journeys. Taking my inspiration from Leseuer’s work is taking me down a path that broadens my horizons while inviting me into a world of delicate and intricate marks and work. My works are mainly on paper, mixed media printmaking, Artist books and 3d works include found objects in installation.

1. Slimy Mackerel, Gyotaku & Hand Colour on Kozo $400

2. Blue Throated Wrasse Male, Gyotaku & Hand Colour on Kozo $400