This painting, currently hanging at the Cutcliffe Gallery - Newtown, features the lining of the armhole of an Irish Worsted, fitted, green jacket that is so loved that people are always asking, "Where did you get that?" It differs from Robins' other works on show in that it has been carried to a greater degree of abstraction by continuing over the edges of the picture frame. She feels that her other works that do not transgress this edge are more iconic in nature.

Robins' magical paintings feature mountains covered with organza, and pieces of things that are given labial identities that are just there, not bitter, confronting or tormented in any way, just simply and happily there.

Her representations are about the beauty of life that goes beyond that which can be expressed. Her whole show can be gazed at in her self-portrait; a very large painting that dominates Cutcliffe's Gallery at the end of King Street. She has her hand over her mouth, caught in an overwhelming moment at the site of a bird that will die in the traffic, where she can't stop to do anything about it. She is wearing a dress that is once again made of fabulous fabric, made for the occasion, with her hair up and a pre-raphelite landscape lit about her shoulders. She is posed in an arched trellis of deep red roses and the whole, masterfully painted effect is one of beauty beyond words.

Her works do not record literal experiences. They sometimes narrate events beyond control, stories of the wastefulness of nature and on the same picture plane show the beauty of life that is also; beyond control, beyond description, beyond us.

Robins captured the same dramatic presence in her drawing of a dress, hanging in space, in front of a textured wall. The work was a close contender for the Dobell prize a couple of weeks ago. The AGNSW went on to buy her work for their permanent collection. Robins is generally attracted to detail and light and had to work hard at rubbing the pastel and charcoal back to the white ground of the arches water colour rag paper to get the detail that she wanted to show.

Her paintings are on Belgium Linen, another lush fabric, that is often rubbed back until it is sheeny. All of her works are marked by an investment of time in ordinary objects that become beautiful in the process. In the smaller works currently hanging in the Cutcliffe Gallery there are some Christian themes that are not only about light but go beyond their physical context to depictions of redemption and sacrifice. Robins transcends "every day life".

Robins originates from Melbourne but settled in Sydney 6 years ago. In Sydney's art world she has become a part of a very down to earth circle and though she admits that both cities can fall victim to fads, she likes the skills based tradition of the Julian Ashton and the National Art School in Sydney. She marks her influences as the Pre-Raphelites and Flemish Primitives. Individuals she admires include Paul Shreider, Bresson, Ozu and Dreyer. In particular Robins admires Piero della Francesca where there is always something more going on. His works invite you to make a, "leap of imagination, a leap of faith."