Underpinning Karlee Rawkins’ poignant imagery of wildlife and flora is a concern to examine the symbolic or totemic meanings nature holds within the human psyche. Depicting a variety of animals traditionally associated with scenes of European and Eastern hunting practices her fresh and vibrant paintings signal a more empathetic attitude toward the untamed.

Creatures such as rabbits, birds, foxes and bears are summoned to life and imbued with a sense of purity and innocence. Exuberantly rendered in blazing colour and vivacious form Rawkins' animals stare out at us from the safely of their picture plane, the mass of their bodies - fur, horns, stomachs and haunches - filling up the space around them. They are sensual, gestural beings, omnipotent and self assured.

Rawkins says of her practice, 'I use animal imagery in my work as a metaphor for human emotions and experiences. The animals are distorted and flattened, often combining with pattern to create intentionally ambiguous compositions. I aim to emphasize the vulnerability and awkwardness of my subject and challenge a viewers recognition and sense of association.

My work divides into various themes or locations such as the meadow, the aviary, the forest, the orchard and the zoo. Currently I am focusing on the animals of North America and playing with ideas of predator and prey.'

Most recent her attention has extended to include the forms of forest flora. No less tenderly depicted these decorative and ornately colourful fruiting trees are pared back to their symbolic essence. Budding with fruit their hulking trunks remind us of the Bohdi Tree, that eternal symbol of awakening experience and offer comfort in their patchwork canopy.

Attracted to the ways in which pattern and line intersect with form and colour Rawkins’ skilfully integrates discernible representation with subtle abstraction. Pointed ears become daring triangles, nimble legs yield to their verticality and wings splay out to form intersecting globes across the picture plane. This dexterous sense of composition and lively mark making is captivating, revealing both child-like veneration and sophisticated appreciation for the form and character of her subjects. Thus Rawkins’ paintings hold within them a range of concerns from the personal to the global, questioning our relationship to nature and more broadly to themes of mortality and even extinction.

Rawkins trained at Southern Cross University and has exhibited extensively since 1994. In 2003 she was the recipient of The Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship and in 2005 and 2007 was a finalist in the Prometheus Art Award. In 2004 she held a 5 months residency at Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, France and has travelled widely through North India and South East Asia. Most recently Rawkins has shown at Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW and Anthea Polson Gallery in Queensland.