Manna Gum and Bogong Moths

Well, here we are in April, my last post was in February and although I had great intentions of posting here in March, it never was to be.

March saw me getting away to a few destinations both old and new. A time to catch up with friends and colleagues after two years of being locked down in my hometown due to the pandemic.

One of the destinations I flew to be was an artist’s retreat in Perisher, NSW. Organised by Sydney artist, Leonie Barton, a group of us spent four days exploring the Kosciusko National Park area with our paint and sketchpads. I dragged along a dear non artist friend of mine who needed some time away and although it was short lived, it was a real treat. I met some new artists face to face which is always so nicer than connecting just in the digital world. I am not a skier, so to go to the Alpine region and see it unveiled from its white winter coat, is much more my thing. To walk down the valley to the trickling stream of the legendary Snowy River on a clear Autumn day was well worth the hill climb back with all my art stuff.

My last big trip away to a new landscape was in 2019 when I travelled to the Northern Territory which inspired me for a good 18 months. Although my local surroundings give me much inspiration there’s nothing quite like exploring a different environment, soaking in the different flora and fauna, colours and textures. Researching its history, mapping out its past.

For now, I’ll leave my written response to this landscape for a later date. There was so much to take in and see and so much to learn about how climate change has impacted within the area, from the death of the Manna Gum to demise of the Bogong Moth. Here I have posted a selection of many photos which I took of the eucalyptus trees that have died on mass. They look like a graveyard of branches scattered across the ranges. As much as this saddens me, it also enables a visual response to thrive in my work and it was a joy to walk amongst them on the Porcupine Trail on a freezing cold, wet day.

It seems that with the recent floods in northern NSW and Southeast QLD and seeing the state of the landscape in Southern NSW has given me so much to think about.

And for the majority of the last 4 weeks, that’s what I’ve been doing instead of studio work as I managed to get Covid whilst away. In addition to this I have some other respiratory nasty that I cannot shake. So, things have been a little slow, my brain has been a little fuzzy.

April has seen me turn another year older, celebrate 21 years of marriage, and my baby turn 18! I feel like this month has just been a blur to be honest.

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