'Vast' opens in just over a week at the beautiful contemporary gallery Suki & Hugh in Bungendore, NSW (about 40 mins drive from Canberra) 

Another lovely country town and one to put on the radar for its scenery, galleries, food, wine and hospitality. The opening is from 3-5pm on Saturday 19th August, and everyone is welcome. 

Whilst visiting Bungendore recently, I had the funny sensation that I was driving through one of my own paintings. Because I paint from memory and imagination, I've been thinking about the way we connect to different landscapes and wondering whether our responses are linked to our heritage. One thing I find so interesting is that the study of country nearly always uncovers stories about people, and often there are coincidences and connections that weave together unexpected landscapes and histories.

"Vast" was an easy concept to come up with for this particular area, because the land and sky are just so expansive on the Monaro - but in looking outwards, we inevitably fix our gaze on the smaller details - and it ends up being the tiny that gives meaning to the vast.  

These little wattle (not botanically accurate) sprigs helped bring the concept of looking closely at the micro to gain perspective on the macro. The words were found in lyrics from songs featured in my favourite movie. Originally I thought I loved 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' because of the stunning, expansive Icelandic landscapes. But actually it turned out that the human story (which was all about memories and imagination and coming to terms with reality) - was much more important. I had these little wattle sketches for ages, started in response to the stunning blooming of wattle at this time of year near Bungendore, and I wasn't sure how to complete them until I listened carefully to the music by Rogue Valley from the soundtrack of Walter Mitty, and the words made sense.

Below is a painting 'Quintessence' which will be on show in 'Vast' too. If you've seen the movie I hope you enjoy the connection. 

Thank you for your interest in my work.