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60x40cm 2020
The blooming of our wild sparaxis is one of our strongest signifiers of a change in our climate. We have been in the same home for around 50 years. We see the wild sparaxis growing sparsely. Mostly they have been very ordinary in colour but this year we’ve had number of the brighter harlequin colours.
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40x60cm 2020
When it comes to climate conundrums a key aspect of inaction is that locally, nationally, and globally there is a lack of consensus from across a wide spectrum of primary, secondary, service, tertiary and quaternary industries on the policies and actions needed to curb increasing global pollution and the continuing degradation of Earth land, sea and air resources. This feeds into the political systems across the world and the lack of will of many to arrive at a consensus on a whole range of environmental and climate conundrums.
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40x60cm 2020
The 2020 COVID19 pandemic, just happened. Pandemics have occurred before, some have mutated, some came and went, all killed. Science at it’s most brilliant is no match for fake news or political pressures. This painting represents an event that “just happened” an uncontrolled explosion of a globally infectious, hostile and deadly virus aggressively mutating. How it happened is important, how it took global control is important, and why some countries did better at infection control than others is important, even more so.
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40x60cm 2020
This painting represents the antithesis to the philosophy that man’s “moral greatness” can control nature. Perhaps man can occasionally mediate or to repair damage made. Man can attempt or seek to control nature, through science, technology, sheer brute force, but at what cost to either upstream or downstream or both – in every sense.
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40x60cm 2020
In this painting I have created a possible scenario on the aftermath of a bushfire. Having been into bushfire recover zones, I’ve seen the indiscriminate way fire acts. Some areas are destroyed others partially and some not touched. We don’t live in never never land and it is argued that Climate Change has contributed to the seemingly increase of bushfire / weather ferocity.
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40x40cm 2020
We planted two Waratah around 30+ years ago. Like most, they took their time to take and develop. Today, one is around five metres tall and the other not much more than two. The tall stands over a narrow subsurface watercourse and next to a fast-growing tree fern, both competing for the eastern and northern light.
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40x80cm 2020
This work recognises the workings of entropy of nature. It is a nod to the artist Tim Silver. Many of his sculptural works is related to the concept of entropy. That is all in nature is in a perpetual state of entropy: the theory that all forms and systems are in a constant state of decay or change. This idea permeates both his objects and installations, themselves captured in this process of decomposition through free falling photo-narratives.
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40x40cm 2020
Another interpretation of our native birds searching for the scarce feed after the fires and smoke damage of the 2019/20 national summer bushfires. The birds, like much of our native fauna are foraging where they can. The grey early morning winter sky highlights the brilliant colours of the parrot. Perhaps, the bright shadows surrounding the parrot and green shoots are providing protection and sustenance.
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60x60cm 2020
I created this painting to represent the smoke haze from bushfire. Living in the Dandenong Ranges I have seen and experienced fire, bushfire and its aftermath. You just can’t see through thick smoke. In this painting I have alluded to something else within the haze.
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60x40cm 2020
This painting is based on XXXXXX overlaid by a newspaper article relating to Climate change and a proposal for an Australian Integrity Commission. I wanted to use this article as it covered both the issue of climate change and the need for Australian Government stronger policy direction in climate change and the release of a policy proposal for an Australian Integrity Commission.
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40x60cm 2020
Or “rainbow trail” passes by a protected natural forest area called Owl Land, a habitat for the protected Powerful Owl. This land has been severely hit of late by ferocious windstorms which have brought down significant number of old trees. Whilst the Powerful Owl is rarely seen, their hooting is heard around the Owl land and in our adjacent tall Eucalypts. I have imagined the Owl with fallen or broken trees above a now lowered canopy watching a passing sunset storm.
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40x60cm 2020
We live on the East of a hill side so rarely see any sunset colour During Spring we had a number of days with number high wind leading to much damage in our township. We also experienced and thunderstorms, interspersed with “red sky at night, shepherds delight” sunsets. Yet these sunsets have been seen before increasingly angry storms. This painting has been foregrounded by home and a magnificent Mahogany Gumtree. Climate change is with us we see increasingly more ferocious storms in our region.
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40x60cm 2020
The early Spring sun was glowing into the east facing garden. Its amazing when you are watching nature, she can show here glowing beauty, just to remind us of the possibilities if we look after the land. The ferns in the front yard are all self-sown and are now 30+years old. There is nothing average about the weather and our gardens have managed through drought, rain, storms, bushfire smoke and ash, high winds, the occasional freezing morning and the even less frequent drop of snow. We do maintain them, feed and when necessary water them. And we are rewarded.
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40x60cm 2020
The two works were painted in different colourways. The first on a cheery, sunny early spring morning. The second on clear, but cold Spring morning.
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40x60cm 2020
The two works were painted in different colourways. The first on a cheery, sunny early spring morning. The second on clear, but cold Spring morning.
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40x60cm 2020
Birthday lockdown was a walk along the Olinda Creek trail, through the wetlands westward to the horse yard. We stopped by the farm and watched the animals in the light drizzle.
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40x60cm 2020
Spring 2020 was cold. One cold November afternoon a couple of Kookaburra’s landed on the clothesline as they are often doing. The frozen line is juxtaposed against the warm colours of the clothes pegs has made for a humorous image...if only climate change did not have such serious connotations to all living things.
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40x60cm 2020
We are blessed with the native birds that frequent our property and flit in and out of both native and exotic plants. The parrots, especially the rosellas love eating from the red/white salvia in our yard outside my studio window. I painted this rosella with an orange touch as a nod to nature’s infinite variability.
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40x40cm 2020
This work was influenced by artists contemporary and not so who painted on dark velvet fabric. This painting is 1 of two. The second one is painted on a contemporary newspaper page.
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60x40cm 2020
Remembrance Day is many things to many people. For me, my families, my: father, great uncle, grandfathers, their wives, mothers and other family members, all in different ways. We have a rose, now more than 30 years old, forming strong canes with clusters of blood-red.
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60x60cm 2020
This image is taken from a local region of natural bush that was totally destroyed by bushfire. Subsequently planted with inappropriate species it was destroyed again. Over the past 60 years it has been transformed into an arboretum. Nature’s powers of renewal with human assistance have created a space of both natural beauty and pleasure. Nature continues to reflect on history, but will history be remembered by humanities future decision makers.
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40x40cm 2020
Walking through the Olinda Creek wetlands we came across a reed protecting billabong. The lone Ibis was hiding, resting, relaxing, looking for a feed perhaps waiting for a mate. The beauty of the ordinary is always around the corner, waiting, but mostly unsighted by human eyes.
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60x40cm 2020
Our garden is a sanctuary for many different flora and fauna. They all co-exist. Mixing them in a collage is not difficult as in many places they all grow together. Descriptors include: a cacophony, a cottage garden, overgrown. The painting was made late winter with the brilliant deep blue of the Iris and the new succulent growth with the late glow of the day on the fern fronds.
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40x60cm 2020
It's October 2020. Lockdown continues and our October birthdays approach and another milestone home alone. The roses are blooming, flowers abound from our garden and from gifts. Albertine’s renovation is looking very successful and between birthdays a magpie lands on one of Albertine’s oldest canes (30 years old a gift from friends and still going strong). It must have loved its new lease of light!
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40x60cm 2020
Walking down through our Powerful Own sanctuary towards our “Rainbow Trail”, so named by the chalk drawings made during our long winter lockdown by the many children on the pathways to the trail, our eyes were taken up to a flock of ducks in an old long dead tree. The tree with its top long blown out was being used as a resting spot for the ducks. Down below was a small seasonal lake that was also used by these casual visitors.
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40x40cm 2020
Under the shadow of the mist, looking up through the tree, the early spring leaves on the pin oak were starting to thicken up. Looking up I could see a misty dampness on the new spring leaves. Like confetti, creating a ceiling of sparkling bubbles.
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40x60cm 2020
The notice board is fast changing from plenty to drought, fire and famine. What is to be done?
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40x60cm 2020
An early Spring morning, the clouds were inky blue and thickening. The sun low on the horizon threw a cool yellow light. A storm soon arriving. After a warm winter it looked like lower-than-average temperatures were upon us. I wanted an abstracted view of the landscape, the heavily laden clouds, the sunny breaks, the shifts in the wind a glimpse of the built environment, all of which added to a sense of the drama of the approaching storm. The wonder of nature’s power.
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50x100cm 2020
If both parties to a dispute bring an olive branch, are willing to hear each other’s point of view, are capable of reaching a consensus, have the power and authority (of factions within their jurisdiction) to make binding decisions, and can carry the weight of their populous they are capable of making transformational and beneficial decision for all parties. This may relate to climate change, war (military, land or trade), use of natural recourses and so on. In this painting the parties of conflict and the parties of conciliation are each bringing an olive branch to the table with the objective of reaching an mutual consensus on reducing the effects of climate change.
