"If you don't do it, don't paint it." This bold statement sums up Ros Goody's passionate attitude towards country sports and towards the men and women who keep them alive. It is through living these pursuits as an active sportswoman that Ros is able to capture such vivid representations with her brushes."She has scaled mountains, walked for miles in adverse conditions, ridden stock horses, mustered cattle in the Australian outback and taken endless samples of leaves, twigs, grass - even clothing - in pursuit of her art," says one of Ros' dearest friends and country contemporaries, Jane Richards.

Her use of colour and tone is instantly evocative. Her ability to conjure up the essence of nature is remarkable and perhaps even more unique is her gift for portraying the characters in those stunning surroundings.

Ros makes these people familiar to the viewer. Indeed, she stresses that they are at the heart of her love of country life. She says, "They are content with where they are, no matter what their walk of life. They have a sort of serenity - and a great sense of humour."

As an irrepressible people person, Ros delights in getting to know her subjects - invaluable when later committing them to canvas - or, to be totally accurate, handmade paper. Ros' insistence upon gaining experience the hard way, while remaining ever cheerful, wins not just friendship but respect "There are some things that I would never have had the chance to do if it had not been for painting," she admits.

"If I want to paint something, I have to go and do it." This attitude has not only pushed Ros across the fields and moors of Great Britain, in her second home, Australia, Ros' determination to live her art has driven her to saddle up with true blue cattlemen for weeks of hard mustering in the high country of Victoria and the dry plains of Queensland; it has also taken her to shearing sheds, rough rodeos and dozens of isolated farm stations in a bid to capture the essence of Australian rural life.

Ros now spends her time between England and Australia, painting and exhibiting in both countries.