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
During the 2019/2020 Australian summer, bush fires raved much of the country. The fires were brought to a conclusion through fire-fighting efforts, but in the main through massive rain falls. This painting illustrates one such deluge on a dystopian landscape. The deluge on a fire ravaged landscape, whilst assisting in the controlling and elimination of the fire can cause even more damage to land and infrastructure and create further problems for rescue and future reconstruction.
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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
These two paintings, It's a riddle wrapped in an enigma, who has a key?; and We’re chasing our tail, represent 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. The riddle quote is taken from Winston Churchill 1939 BBC broadcast said “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia.
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40x60cm 2020
The climate change aspect that is visible to most is the increasing volatility of land based weather patterns. In this painting a storm emerges and takes a human/animal shape as it wreaks havoc across a food producing region. Climate change, vicious and violent weather conditions, earthquakes, movements in Earth’s tectonic plates, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, heating and cooling have always been a part of our Earth’s continuous natural evolution. Today, the environmental discussions now focus, not on the natural evolutionary changes, but on the fast-paced climate change and global warming caused by increasing greenhouse gas emissions, waste pollution on land and in particular the seas, degradation of seas and land used for food production causing food shortages, famine, massive increases in peoples being displaced and the list goes on.
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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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40x60cm 2020
A different kind of “hard rain” is falling today. Whether it be a viral pandemic (with increasing mutations) or climate change or trade wars or identity crisis or financial destruction- crises are mounting up. We all see one or more in increasing strength. These crises have been reflected and reported upon by governments, industry, unions, NGOs, scientists, health professionals, media, the general public on over the past 50 years. There is no more time to reflect on these changes in the natural environment. In this painting, as the rain falls the reflection of humanity is blurred by mounting anxiety and frustration at a lack of action at both governmental and general public levels. Dylan’s 1961 prophesy has become today’s high possibility if not probability. Even “standin’ on the highest mountain” won’t stop the sinkin’.
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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.
Full description below.
