Liz Parkinson has lived at North Avoca for almost the last 40 years, and came from Muswellbrook originally. She graduated in Economics after attending Sydney University, and became a teacher. After that she worked in her husband’s computer and internet business for a number of years. She has also travelled widely and in recent years has settled into the latter-day careers of writing and art.

Her cards feature local landmarks, native trees or Australian birds which are drawn in my own unique style. She has written a history of Terrigal which has been very well received and is now in its second edition. She has had numerous exhibitions of her artwork both in Australia and overseas with a number of her pieces included in collections and galleries.

Connect with the author on Instagram @parkinson_liz

Born 1938, Jocelyn Maughan studied five years full-time at the National Art School, Sydney, graduating in 1958. Notable and influential teachers included Jimmy Cook, Peter Laverty and Tom Thompson. Fellow students also sparked off each other and of special mention were the talented Brian Dunlop, Margaret Woodward and Robin Norling. Maughan founded the art school on the Meadowbank campus of the Department of Technical Education, concurrent with a career as a practising and exhibiting artist. She has been a guest lecturer, demonstrator and judge for a number of art societies, universities, schools of art and the Art Gallery of NSW.

Awards: Robert Le Gay Brereton Prize for Draughtsmanship (student award) 1957; Portia Geach Prize for Portrait Painting 1976; Margaret Fesq Prize for Portrait Painting (RAS award) 1983; various municipal art awards, including Gosford Art Prize 2019. Order of Australia Medal “for service to the visual arts, and to education”, 2018.

Find out more at www.jocelynmaughan.com 

Ken Lamb holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New South Wales. He majored in modern landscape painting and abstract steel sculpture with a particular interest in Oriental aesthetics, Japanese sumi-e brush painting, and traditional Chinese landscape ink paintings of the Sung dynasty. After working as an artist for 10 years with successful shows in Sydney, Colombo and Sri Lanka, he embarked on the journey of discovery of Japanese gardens.

• Ken founded Imperial Gardens Landscape in 1984 specialising in the design and construction of Japanese & Oriental gardens. 
• He became inaugural Director of the International Association of Japanese Gardens in 1994 and host of the 12th International Symposium of Japanese Gardens in Sydney 2012. 
• He runs Pruning Workshops from Hidden Orient Nursery Belrose and works with local & state government with specialised pruning, training, and garden renovations.
• Imperial Gardens is a multi-award winning company and contributor to the Hidden Gardens Festival showcasing exceptional gardens. 

For more information, visit www.imperialgardens.com.au
 

In addition to books by individual local authors, the Gallery Gift Shop stocks children's books and a broad range of adult books focusing on:

• International art
• Australian art
• Aboriginal art
• Artistic techniques and tutorials
• Gardens
• Japan
• Manga and anime
• Travel
• Activity books
• Origami
• Notebooks
• Poetry, and more

We also stock origami paper and kits, gift wrap, jigsaw puzzles and more.