Australian LandscapesMuch of the Natural World fascinates me, even mesmerises me.
Painting enhances my seeing and hence my experience. Because I seek to make reasonably convincing illusions of what is there before me (and perhaps additionally due to my strong background in photography), I search for a point of view point that entices me by its appearance and its content. The painting then may translate into an image worthy of that Place. I find fascinating the act of making a two-dimensional illusion of an acutely three-dimensional place, aiming to make that illusion ‘come alive’ somehow. Doing the artwork is at least as stimulating for me as the finished work, if not more so. Australian landscapes often for me represent tenacious endurance in the face of austerity such as drought. I also love heritage buildings, whose sometimes scarred or lonely facades so often seem to hold stories of their past. My paintings pay homage to these Places. Flinders Ranges Series I’ve returned many times to the vast and remote Flinders Ranges of South Australia to paint at the town of Melrose and at Buckaringa, owned and managed by Australian Wildlife Conservancy (www.australianwildlife.org), a registered not-for-profit organisation whose mission is the effective conservation of all Australian animals and their habitats. AWC manages 25 sanctuaries covering over five million hectares across Australia. My 13-24 March 2019 exhibition at the Australian Guild for Realist Artists (AGRA) in Camberwell, Victoria, has honoured the Timeless Beauty of the Buckaringa Conservancy. Success of this exhibition hopefully augments Artistic Philanthropy as a revenue stream for the AWC. Melrose, a tiny historic town of about 400 residents, is the southern ‘gateway’ to the Flinders Ranges. Melrose is home to the historic five-storey stone (former) Jacka’s Brewery, first seen by me in 2010 when it stood empty and deteriorating, within a complex of other heritage buildings. My partner Wendy Morris and I were quite smitten by this historic complex, and helped then owner, long-time farmer Diane Slee, to bring the then empty brewery building back to life. Jacka’s is now being revitalised by its new owners, the Hobbs Family, into a Visitors Centre, accommodation, and of course a brewery. Included here are paintings of Jacka’s Brewery, as well as images of the ancient mythic red gums nearby on the MacCallum Farm. I am donating to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy half the sales of all paintings of Buckaringa or other AWC sites. |
Roo Tails overlooking Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges SA 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
Redgums at Middle Gorge #1, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, 2018 55cm X 35cm
'Flasher' Redgum, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, 2018 55cm X 35cm, framed
East Cliffs after Wet Spring, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, SA 2017 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
East Cliff from Creekbed, Flinders Ranges, SA 2017 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
Sunset Cliffs 1, Buckaringa Gorge, Flinders Ranges SA 2015 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
Sunset Cliffs 3, Buckaringa Gorge, Flinders Ranges, 2018 55cm X 35cm, framed
Buckaringa Gorge Track, Flinders Ranges, 2013 55cm X 35cm, framed
White Cliffs of Willochra Creek, 2016, Buckaringa SA 55cm X 35cm, unframed
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Distant Wilpenas from Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, SA 2015 60cm X 40cm, framed
Gum in Buckaringa Creekbed, Flinders Ranges, SA 2018 60cm X 40cm, framed
Redgums in Middle Gorge #2, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges SA 55cm X 35cm, framed
Redgums, Middle Gorge #3, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges SA 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
East Cliffs from Dry Creekbed, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, 2017 55cm X 35cm framed
East Cliffs #1, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges, 2018 55cm X 35cm, framed
East Cliffs #2, Buckaringa, Flinders Ranges SA 2011 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
Sunset Cliffs 2, Buckaringa Gorge, Flinders Ranges, SA 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
Sunset Cliffs 4, Buckaringa Gorge, Flinders Ranges, SA 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
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Jacka's Brewery, Melrose, Flinders Ranges SA 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
Jacka's Brewery from Woolshed Basement, Melrose SA, 2016 60cm X 42cm framed
Kilenoola Mural, Melrose SA, 2016 6m X 3m (At Slee Farmhouse)
Bowing Gums, MacCallum Farm, Flinders Ranges SA, 2015 55cm X 35cm, unframed
Churning Gum Roots, MacCallum Farm, Flinders Ranges SA, 2015 55cm X 35cm unframed
Dickmans Farmstead at Maldon 2019 55cm X 35cm, framed
Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, 2015 55cm X 35cm, unframed
Dove Lake with Cradle Mountain Beyond, watercolour,
62cm X 34cm, 2020 unframed
Enchanted Creek Walk, Cradle Mountain National Park, 2020, watercolour with gouache, A3 sized
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Jacka's Brewery Base, Melrose, Flinders Ranges, SA 2012 55cm X 35cm (private collection)
Jacka's Brewery at Ground, Melrose, Flinders Ranges, SA 2014 60cm X 40cm, unframed
Fractured Redgum, MacCallum Farm near Melrose, Flinders Ranges, SA 2017 55cm X 35cm, unframed
Dancing Gums, MacCallum Farm, Flinders Ranges, SA 2014 60cm X 40cm, framed
Gums along Willochra Creekbed, MacCallum Farm, Flinders Ranges, SA 2014 60cm X 40cm, unframed
Buckaringa Dry Creekbed, Flinders Ranges, 2018 60cm X 42cm, unframed
Uluru 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
Red Gum at Arkaba Creek, Flinders Ranges, 2019, A3-size, unframed
Elder Range from Woolshed Creek at Arkaba, Flinders Ranges 2019, 55cm X 40cm, unframed
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Jacka's Brewery Basement, Melrose, Flinders Ranges, 2012 55cm X 35cm framed
Lello Homestead near Melrose, Flinders Ranges, 2017 60cm X 41cm framed
Willochra Creek Redgums, MacCallum Farm, Flinders Ranges, 2017 55cm X 35cm, framed
Gnarled Redgum Roots, MacCallum Farm near Melrose, Flinders Ranges, 2016 55cm X 35cm, private collection
Writhing Gum at MacCallum Farm outside Melrose SA 55cm X 35cm (framed)
Cottage at Maldon Cemetery 2019 55cm X 35cm, framed
Summer Light on Boulders outside Maldon, Victoria 55cm X 35cm, framed
View from Tent, Karatjini National Park, 2019, A3-size watercolour, unframed
Autumn Leaves, 62cm X 34cm, watercolour with gouache, 2020, from photo by Wendy Morris
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Over the Edge, Barron River, Far North Queensland, 2021 Watercolour A3 size
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Morning Light in Grand Canyon, 2020, acrylic A2-sized
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 Approaching North Canyon, Colorado River, 2021, watercolour A3 size
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Over the Edge, Barron River, Far North Queensland, watercolour, 2021 A3-sized
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Silver Grotto, Grand Canyon, 2020 acrylic A2-size
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 Lake near Palm Cove, Far North Queensland, 2021, watercolour A3-size
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Lake St. Claire, Tasmania, 2020 Watercolour A3
Fig Tree, Melbourne Botanical Gardens, 2021, WatercolourA2
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Sunset Beach, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, 2021
Watercolour A3 size
Fern Tree, Melbourne Botanical Gardens, Watercolour A3, 2021
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Nuggety Track, Maldon, 2014, watercolour
A3 size
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