Brown Honey Eaters & Slipper Orchids

This still life captures a quiet moment of care and connection between Australian brown honeyeaters tending to their young among slipper orchids grown in my own garden, gathered in a simple terracotta pot. Painted in watercolour and pencil on a wooden board, the work invites the viewer to pause and notice the small exchanges that often go unseen — the gentle offering of food, the curve of a stem, the soft lift of a flower.

This work is grounded in stillness and close looking. Rather than creating a dramatic scene, I chose a calm moment that invites the viewer to slow down and spend time with the details. Subtle pattern, repetition, and restrained colour are used to create balance and rhythm, supporting the theme of Be Still.

My work is rooted in slowing down and paying attention. Growing up in South Africa in a creative household, I learned early the value of observation — watching hands move, noticing light, and allowing time for things to unfold. Later, living in Papua New Guinea and then settling in Australia gave me the space to deepen that way of seeing.

Nature, in all its quiet and untamed beauty, continues to guide my practice. This piece is not about drama or spectacle, but about stillness — a reminder that meaning often lives in the gentle, patient moments we take time to truly see.