South - To the Land's Edge and the Great Ocean

These paintings are inspired by the wild coastlines which border the Bass Strait and Southern Ocean, from the dramatic rim flanked by the Great Ocean Road, to the beauty of Bruny and the rock-strewn shores of King Island. They begin with walking coastal tracks, taking mental and photographic notes, and absorbing impressions. They emerge on the canvas as reflective compositions on the distinctive character of these magnetic places. These artworks draw upon the visual richness and complexity of such littoral environments, giving prominence to the fragile wildflowers and wind-sculpted plants that cling to cliff edges, thriving in an onslaught of salt air, cool mist and sea-spray. They foreground the intricate, understated beauty of small stones, layered rock and coastal heath, but also embrace the epic expanses visible at the land's edge.