The Australian Landscape Series 2010
This show is my long awaited series of artwork inspired by my homeland, Australia. Last year I spent time exploring the Australian land and Aboriginal culture for inspiration. I visited many places in country Victoria and travelled to the Northern Territory and spent time in both Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. It is here that I gathered ochre rocks and ground them into paints for this series.
On my travels to the NT I learnt that the Aboriginal people paint either the 'country' or the 'dreaming', as these where considered most scared. To paint with ochre brings the country into the painting, which makes the art more scared again, like this land is to its people. This is why I chose to bring ochre into this series on the Australian Landscape, to bring the country into the paintings and to honour this beautiful land and its people.
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Kakadu is vast in space and rich in the culture of the original land owners of Australia. This small pocket of the bush I saw whilst in Kakadu was across from a large site of cave paintings which were thousands of years old. The tree second from the left which is thin and curls up into the sky, is the tree the Aboriginal people use for their Didgeridoo. They wait for the ants to eat the inside of the tree until it is hollow, then they cut and shape it into their musical instrument. Dimensions: 780 x 1250 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas (framed) Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Price: $1800 AUD (framed)
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Kakadu is vast in space and rich in the culture of the original land owners of Australia. This small pocket of the bush I saw whilst in Kakadu was across from a large site of cave paintings which were thousands of years old. The tree second from the left which is thin and curls up into the sky, is the tree the Aboriginal people use for their Didgeridoo. They wait for the ants to eat the inside of the tree until it is hollow, then they cut and shape it into their musical instrument. Dimensions: 305 x 920 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas (framed) Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Status: Private collection, Australia
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This painting is of the iron bark bush on the outskirts of Bendigo city. I have a friend who lives amongst these trees which are dark in colour and full of character. Each tree is like its own person, standing still. Dimensions: 790 x 1040 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas (framed) Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Price: $1600 AUD (framed)
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On my way into Kakadu I visited an Aboriginal community. The people that I met there were of the Long-neck turtle dreamtime. One of the elders of this community gave me a blessing to be on their land and be protected by their ancestors. The ceremony was simple and involved water from this creek which is shown in the painting. After the blessing a breeze went through the area, giving a sense that the introduction had been successful and I was welcome there. In this painting you can see the area in which I stood during the blessing and in the distance is a Magpie Goose which are native to this area of Australia and known as a cuisine in the Aboriginal culture. Dimensions: 78 x 155 cm Medium: Acrylic on Canvas (framed) Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Status: Private collection, Australia
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This painting is sister to 'Darwin bush I', a smaller painting of the bush from a large area about 30mins south of Darwin, NT, Australia. Dimensions: 460 x 960 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Status: Private collection, Australia
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I was fascinated by the trees and colours of the land in the Northern Territory. I could feel the life in the land there, Australia's heartbeat. I was met with a silence and sense of freedom I have not experienced in any other country. The bird you can see in the trees is a Kingfisher, which is native to this area. Dimensions: 918 x 918 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Price: $1450 AUD
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I travelled to Litchfield afew times and if I lived in the area of Darwin I would travel there often. I love Litchfield, there is is much to see and is an easy day trip from Darwin. One of my favourite places was Wangi Falls. Here I felt peace and richness with the land and it's ancient culture and ancestors. There is a small water hole in the cliffs face where I sat and relaxed. Even though there were many tourists swimming, they didn't disturb the silence I felt here. In this painting I wanted to make it obvious that it is a picture of a waterfall, yet through the shapes in the cliff face ones imagination is inspired to see whatever you wish. Which brings the piece to life. Dimensions: 916 x 760 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Status: Private collection, Ireland
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Fogg Dam is located outside Kakadu National Park in NT, Australia in the western part of the Adelaide River floodplain. It is an area of great significance to the local Limilngan-Wulna Aboriginal people. Fogg Dam is also a remnant of early attempts to produce rice on the Adelaide River flood plains. Today it provides an important refuge for wildlife. What makes Fogg Dam so interesting is its diverse habitat and wildlife all within easy walking distance. The monsoon and eucalypt forest, open scrub land, melaleuca woodland, floodplain and open water attract significant numbers of birds, reptiles, mammals and marsupials. It is said to have the greatest predator biomass known in the world. Sedges, grasses, pandanus and waterlilies can be seen seasonally in the floodplain. Lotus lilies and grass islands feature in the water. Dimensions: 1220 x 914 mm Medium: Acrylic and ochre on canvas (framed) Created: 2010 Exhibition: Australian Landscape Status: Private collection, Australia