Living near the beach in Port Macquarie, Central Mid North Coast Australia,  the sound of the sea is noticeable day and night and the colours and energies of the land and the water in a state of constant flux.

We have walked and re-walked sections of the 9 km coastal track from the Town Basin down to Lighthouse Bay and it never fails to energise and inspire.

 

The Pathway is an almost constant theme in my work and during quiet walks, ideas and insight can arise from just walking and paying attention to stones and stairways and being careful of each step. A path is a good analogy for life with its ups and downs but the rocks and stones underfoot offer support and guide even as the surface itself changes constantly, the underlying strata is there and is strong and steadfast- while viewpoints and horizons shift and vary.

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Painting format

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I have used a square format instead of the usual ‘landscape’ format as it offers a way of ‘enclosing’ the path and offers compositional opportunities as well as a fresher angle on the image.

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Underpainting

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The underpainting includes vivid oranges and reds which represent the blood of the earth and its fiery energy and well as the vibrant reds which are part of the soil structures in Australia anyway.

Textures are sometimes randomly applied prior to the surface image used and  expressive of movement of past or future wind or rain or the passing energies of birds or the Unseen.