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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40x40cm 2020
My birthday coincides with the blooming of our larger Orchids. My wife presented this Orchid cane full of blooms to me on my Birthday. This orchid lives under our Wisteria trees and is mostly left to its own ways. When it blooms it usually throws a number of canes full of beautiful flower. I painted this cane against a dark velvety backdrop to enhance the spirit of Spring’s renewal emerging after a dark Winter’s slumber.
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40x60cm 2020
The north facing lakeside studio is with large deciduous trees on the south side is an ideal location to contemplate the wonders of nature. The summer northerlies bring up choppy waves as the sun lights up the treetops. Autumn has started early this year and the leaves are starting to turn. Summer azaleas and roses continue to bloom, and I suspect a cold winter ahead.
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40x40cm 2020
The dark early morning winter’s sky caught a flock of King Parrots feeding on the tips of the Pin Oak. Food is scarce after the fires and smoke damage so the birds are foraging where they can.
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40x40cm 2020
Spring came early and with the flowering of the Kangaroo Paws came the wisteria blooms overnight falling making a new bed of compost for the next season. Nature feeding Nature. Something we can all learn from. The bright early morning spring light has cast the Wisteria blooms on the paving as fallen snow.
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40x60cm 2020
From storms to the quiet prelude of the morning. This painting was done in late October after the strict Victorian lockdown ended. We were able to journey more than 5km from home we visited the R J Hamer Arboretum at Olinda in the Dandenong Ranges. The R.J. Hamer Arboretum land is a small part of the original Dandenong and Woori Yallock State forest, proclaimed over 110 years ago.
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40x40cm 2020
From a stop along the lake wall during a winter’s walk around the Lilydale lake we were able to view an approaching storm. We see, feel and hear storms and other effects in nature such as fire, flood, drought and wilful destruction of our environment. Perhaps like the fauna, and those who have been directly affected, we need to consider the “why is it so” in the incidence of the increasing variability and ferocity of nature’s actions.
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60x40cm 2020
Winter also brings forth the flowering Grevillea. This Grevillea, within our 5km lockdown zone seen on a clear winter’s morning outside our village library and community space. This painting shines a light on the amazing colours of Australian native flora.
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40x60cm 2020
Walking on our “Rainbow Trail” section of the Warburton Rail Trail, our Wattles spring to life from winter onwards. The Australian green and gold colours and blooms of the various cultivars can differ, bloom across all seasons, but never clash with each other. I painted this Wattle blooming during Winter.
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40x40cm 2020
This painting is a poignant one. This painting is for all warriors. There are warriors in our family amongst our many friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. There are warriors, past, present emerging, and future. There are warriors who we hear about and those who we don’t.
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40x40cm 2020
In early winter, 2020, new arbours were constructed, and our vigorous Albertine’s rambles were pruned, and the strong leaders redirected into more sunlight. Albertine has always bloomed around mid-November for our Daughters Birthday. This year the clusters of fragrant double flowers, started budding early in mid-October. Perhaps, blessed this year with more sunshine and more rain the large soft pink blossoms were in full bloom in late October – two weeks early. Albertine was a gift and has been with us for over 30 years. A gift that keeps on giving.
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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
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
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
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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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
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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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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40x60cm 2020
The notice board is fast changing from plenty to drought, fire and famine. What is to be done?
