Dear Fellow Wildlife Lover 

This month's letter is a little different.

Instead of walking you through technique and process, I want to tell you a story. A few stories, actually — because this painting comes with more personal history attached to it than almost anything else I've ever made.

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A Brand New Painting — Yours First

Before I get to the stories, I want to share something that I’m so happy with about this month's letter.

Chorus Line has never been released as a print before. Not to anyone.

Hidden Ant Society members are the first people in the world to hold this artwork in their hands. This painting is personal in a way that goes back decades, and I'm glad it's coming to you first.

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Where It All Began

Not many people know this about me, but my very first wildlife encounters as a child were with Brushtail Possums, Bearded Dragons — and Bull Ants. Those ants have a ferocious bite. Painful and intense in a way you don't forget quickly.

Funny, isn't it, that my unofficial trademark turned out to be a small ant hiding in almost every painting I sign.

As a young person I kept Spinifex Hopping Mice and two Eastern Long-neck Turtles as pets. My husband Paul, before we were married, also kept turtles. I think we were always going to find each other.

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Blue

On our honeymoon, Paul and I drove north to Coffs Harbour. On the way, we stopped in to visit dear friends who lived in Bobin — a small town on the road that winds up toward Ellenborough Falls, the longest waterfall in New South Wales.

Our friend Rachel had been caring for a Red-eyed Tree Frog she'd found a couple of months earlier. He'd been injured — bad scratches on his back and damage to one eye. His injuries had healed, but he'd lost vision in his left eye entirely, and Rachel wasn't confident about releasing him back into the wild. She offered him to us. We didn't hesitate for a moment. We put him in a small pet carrier and took him on our honeymoon.

That first night, we caught moths for him to eat. And then, after weeks of silence during his recovery, he croaked. Loud, and proud, and completely full of himself. We were absolutely delighted.

We named him Blue. We had him for close to six years. He was such a character.

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Bobin, Bushfires, and a Comeback

My twin sister Nicole now lives in Bobin — the same small town where Blue came into our lives all those years ago.

In 2019, that area was devastated by bushfires. Properties were lost, the little local primary school was gone, and the landscape was changed forever. It was heartbreaking. But last summer, something wonderful was happening.

The Red-eyed Tree Frogs were having an extraordinary season. They were everywhere — on windows, on walls, in the garden, calling from every direction after dark. Nicole's property was alive with them. It was as though nature was celebrating its own recovery. I went a little crazy with my camera.

Red-eyed Tree Frogs are my all-time favourite Australian frog. There is something about them — those vivid red eyes, that brilliant green, the way they sit so still and then launch themselves with complete confidence — that I find endlessly captivating. Watching them come back to a landscape that had been so badly burned moved me more than I can easily put into words.

It's so amazing how nature has the ability to bounce back from the brink.

Chorus Line was painted from the photographs I took on that visit. This painting will hold a very special place in my heart, always.

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The Ant

He's in there — somewhere among the greenery, keeping quiet company with the frogs.

As always, I'll give you a hint: he's on the top left, on one of the green leaves.

Did you find him before reading this? If you’d like, share your find in the Facebook group — love to see it.

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Next Month

In August I'll be returning to a more technique-focused letter — and revisiting an artwork with its own quiet story behind it. More details next month.

Until then, I hope Chorus Line brings a little of that Bobin magic into your home. And I hope wherever you are, the wildlife is doing well.