“Even the rude Rocks, the mossy Caverns, the irregular unwrought Grottos and unbroken Falls of waters, with all the horrid Graces of the Wilderness itself, as representing Nature more, will be the more engaging, and appear with a Magnificence beyond the formal Mockery of Princely Gardens.” Anthony Ashley Cooper, earl of Shaftsbury. 1709 Boronia Peak … More Horrid Graces
As evidenced by this painting, there isn’t an awful lot near Smeaton, a small town north of Ballarat. I make a lot of “busy” paintings, probably because visually there’s a lot going on in the forest. It’s complicated and messy. Trees stick out at odd angles. Stuff falls over. The whole place looks like an … More Near Smeaton
Around 2006 I lived in Northumberland for about a year. I didn’t make many pictures during that time, but this is one of my favourites. New spring leaves on birch trees.
It was a damp and overcast late winter day when I sketched this azalea in the Japanese Garden in St. Mawgan in Cornwall. Its flowers held a promise of spring that was a long time coming that year. The painting was made safely back in the warmth of the studio.
Finally, after trawling the archives, I get to put up a new painting. Just completed, it’s a painting of the Swiss-Italian gardens at Lavandula Lavender Farm near Daylesford. Go there and have the share plate. This is from a sketch of their fabulously ornamental vegetable plots: onions and nasturtiums and, hmmm, nigella maybe? Not entirely sure. For … More Inna Gadda da Vida
Looking north from Mt Buninyong. I like a volcano, even an extinct one, so I’m pretty happy with the number dotted around Ballarat. The one in the foreground is Mt. Warrenheip. And the title? Well, I have been painting for around 30 years, and I have been calling each painting something prosaic like Ballarat Lane XXVIII, which … More And pallid evening twines its beaming hair
