When Major Anneke Jamieson is hit with artistic inspiration, the ideas often bounce around until they spill over into a piece of art.
This 'popcorn' path of pondering helped create the paintings she showed at the 2026 Defending the Arts exhibit, the annual festival for the ADF Creative Arts Association (ADFCAA).
"My focus is on storytelling, and my stories tend to be military-related. I'm quite passionate about breaking down the walls between the military and civilian world," Major Jamieson said.
"I had an idea to paint a picture with military-vehicle-shaped foil balloons to try and display the feeling of that first day in the military when you join up, but I found I reached the limit of my skill."
She bought some foil balloons and began painting them to practise how light reflects off their shapes, and started to enjoy painting the balloons.
"That popcorned off to another idea. I wanted to paint beachscapes, but found them a bit boring. So, I thought, 'What if you put a balloon in a beachscape?'," she said.
"They're a simpler idea, but now I have the skills to go back and finish the other painting."
Major Jamieson said she was always drawing as a child, but as she got older, her technical mind took over, leading her to study engineering and join the Army.
While on maternity leave during a posting to the United States, she rediscovered her love of art and practised painting by running 'paint-and-sip' sessions with other military wives.
'I'm quite passionate about breaking down the walls between the military and civilian world.'
Since transitioning to the reserves, she has taken the opportunity to focus on her art.
She painted a piece called The Promotion, a portrait of a servicewoman breastfeeding in uniform, which won the 2022 Napier Waller Art Prize run by the Australian War Memorial for former and serving members of the Australian Defence Force.
This encouraged her to continue her artistic pursuits, and she now attends an art school once a week near her home on the Sunshine Coast while working part-time for the 7th Brigade.
Alongside the exhibition, Defending the Arts participants attended workshops, toured the Australian War Memorial and took part in a Last Post ceremony.
The week finished with a performance night showcasing song, dance, music and drama.
Another painting Major Jamieson exhibited - of a RAAF loadmaster staring out the window of a C-27J Spartan - is part of a planned body of works celebrating "moments of quiet and awe" experienced in a Defence career.
She encouraged artists who may be doubting their work to keep at it.
