BUSHWALK

Saint Cloche

JULY 2020

I have direct access to the bush from my street. Where the houses stop the bush continues - as it always has. I see bits of it in our garden, in the bush rocks that poke out and remind me that less than 50 years ago this patch of land was no different to the huge swathe of bush that starts almost on my doorstep, marking the perimeter of Ku Ring Gai National Park.

The backdrop to the creation of this body of work is the COVID-19 pandemic. The whole world is living through an extraordinary time and our routines have shifted to accommodate a new normal. As a family we are adapting; we seek refuge in daily walks in the bush for our allotted exercise and to fill our lungs with fresh air. It is a new ritual. We go to the wilderness to escape the crazy sense of confinement. My process begins with walking and taking photos. I use the photos as my starting point in the studio. This differs from my previous practice of working solely from life.

My fascination with Australian botanicals continues but now they are depicted in the landscape. In the studio I quickly put aside the photos and allow the work to develop from memory, through exploration of form and colour. I work with oil pastels because they force me to work with bold decisive marks. I don’t erase or rub out ‘mistakes’. I don’t overwork the pastels and rarely overlay colours, preferring to place colours side by side.

This body of work is an expression of gratitude for the tracts of untouched wilderness that we find in our neighbourhood offering us a sense of expansiveness in an otherwise narrowed-down world. I know that others are appreciating their local wilderness too because I meet so many more people on the bushwalking tracks.Viewers will find comfort and a sense of peace in the familiar motifs and the timeless nature of the Australian Bush.