“Art was all I ever wanted to do!” I studied Commercial Illustration at the Queensland College of Art and later finished a Visual Arts course majoring in textile printing. I have a love of painting especially on fabric! I intuitively paint directly onto cotton.

My designs are large scale, organic, colourful and spontaneous. I rarely plan on paper what I intend to do, it’s usually an idea from my natural surrounds that presents a mark or image in my mind. When my creativity arises, I can’t start quick enough. One idea leads to another and then another, creating marks and colour combinations becomes additive and completely absorbing.

I often use found objects to paint with.  Being a creative, curious, and intuitive being, my creativity is abundant when I can immerse my soul in untouched natural surroundings.

In 2009 I retired from my fulltime job to travel solo for eleven months around Australia, in a motorhome, just me and my fox terrier dog “Millie”. I soon realized with gratitude that I was on one big “Art Excursion.”  I visited several Aboriginal Art centres on my journey across Northern Territory and Northern Western Australia. Inspired by the colours of the earth and the wide-open spaces, I have crushed soft coloured rocks found in dry riverbeds, sifted and added glue to create a consistency I can paint with. I often enjoy sketching with charcoal from the campfire I’ve cooked on.

In 2017 Denise sold her house and set off once again. In-between traveling she did housesitting at eight rural properties. I loved the experience of looking after many different animals. It also gave me the opportunity and space to set up my sewing machine; to Iron my hand painted fabrics I had painted along the way and spend days exploring ideas, sewing, quilting and painting. She has a home base on acreage in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Queensland.

Denise’s first Collection “Art Excursion” was launched in Houston in 2018, (photo above). Further Collections sold in stores have been “Fancy Free 2019”, “Stillness in Nature 2020”, “Special Moments in 2021”, “Island Vacation 2022”, “Exotic Garden Palace 2024”, “After the Rain 2025”, and “Desert Oasis 2026”.   In 2023, she was fortunate to have a Solo Exhibition – titled “The Traveling Artist”. Denise launched her first book with the same name with her Exhibit which incorporated twenty-six of her hand painted Quilts in Special Exhibits at the International Quilt Festival in Houston Texas. In Denise’s workshops – come prepared to exude your child like enthusiasm and to be surprised at the effects and designs you can achieve using her methods.