The Maldon Landscape Prize 2023
Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media
Online Gallery
Sitting in Wilsons Reserve, captures my altered perception of the trees that dance around the Yarra Bend of Naarm. It explores the underlying, secretive colours that lye within the bark of the soft gums. Exploring the depth of beauty that the trees hold, encouraging the viewer to really stop and look when they take time to walk within the natural environment. This piece was created through finding a sense of connectedness within the natural landscape that lies within Naarm. Having found a spot to stop, sit and watch, the slowness of the world move, within Wilsons Reserve.
002 - Sitting in Wilsons Reserve - Molly Burrage
Finalist
Being concerned about the future of the planet in terms of climate, I feel the need to depict the beauty of the Australian landscape and to emphasise that oases such as this, in the middle of outback Australia, would not exist without adequate rainfall.
003 - Waterhole - Marion Chapman
Finalist
The regrowth of thin straggly, blue-grey eucalyptus emerge amongst the few ancient pre European Gum trees. Blended green-oxide and cobalt contrast sharply with the red oxide of the rusted gold-dredging machinery. Both Maldon’s ancient history and its modern times are here, in the bush, essentially a balance between old growth and decay and regeneration.
005 - Claiming and Reclamation I - Glenda Fell Jones
The regrowth of thin straggly, blue-grey eucalyptus emerge amongst the few ancient pre European Gum trees. Blended green-oxide and cobalt contrast sharply with the red oxide of the rusted gold-dredging machinery. Both Maldon’s ancient history and its modern times are here, in the bush, essentially a balance between old growth and decay and regeneration.
006 - Claiming and Reclamation II - Glenda Fell Jones
Painted from a tiny gouache done on site near Goyer, this oil became its own creation, guiding me in all its processes. Colour is one of the means I use to adorn the linen with my response to this landscape. The other is time.
007 - The Gower Trees - Smiley Williams
012 - Leaking Aquifers - Ron Holden
Finished 26/07/2023
This painting depicts what I love about Karijini NP. The imposing, rugged cliff faces against the still, tranquil waters. This juxtaposition truly soothes the soul
008 - Karijini - David Mayo
I often ponder as I walk the banks of the Newstead Loddon how befitting the DjDja Warrung concept of six seasons is to this place. My work shows the gentle transition from greening dry in April to flooding rains in June/July. The artwork transitions as you walk past it. It consists of two full sheet watercolour paintings combined on a foam core construction to achieve this. It required a lot of trial and error before I sliced up two paintings! Capturing the transition of time and place in those hidden places often overgrown and forgotten yet beautiful and timeless.
009 - Change from Ngarri to Wai Kalk - Marcus Hotblack
This is an old Peppercorn Tree that lives by a track my partner and I walk along. While we walk, we discuss life, problems, ideas and plans. Often, I wonder what conversations this tree may have heard over the years?
010 - Old Peppercorn Tree - Kain White
Back in 2014, my wife and I fled a fast moving bushfire in Gariwerd ( Grampians). We returned a few months later to witness the signs of regrowth. Ever since, I have referenced my sketchbook drawings of that time through paintings, drawings and etchings. "Burnt Callitris" for me, represents the harshness, grittiness, and sheer determination of the Australian Landscape to Endure .
013 - Burnt Callitris - Gariwerd - Craig Barrett
014 -Exposed Roots - Darling River - Craig Barrett
Finalist
I spend a lot of time "On Country" . I have camped along the Darling River at times when I could walk across , and times that I have had to abandon camp due to rising flood waters. Here, I was drawn to the sheer graphic image of the dry, crusty exposed redgum roots laid bare against the drying , muddy river.
019 - Stranded at the foreshore - Helen Lehmann
Finalist
020 - Regrowth - Robert Waghorn
Even though nature can be destroyed through human error and carelessness. It still manages regrowth and rejuvination beyond our wildest imagination.
I am a lover of flowing lines, in nature and in art. This vision was like a doorway taking me over the long slender sand dune thrown up by the seas to what laid beyond to one of the longest beaches in the world, the 90 mile beach. I walk daily in the bush around my home in Castlemaine and while I love every bit of what it provides, it doesn’t have the elegance provided by the beach side vegetation of the Tea-tree. Trees which seem to meander and feel ageless. A rhythm that asked to be painted.
015 - Crossing the Sand Dune - Karen Holland
In this work I wanted to give the viewer the sense of joy and anticipation of renewed life that Spring brings. After the long, cold, dark days of Winter the softly blooming flowers, perfumed breezes and the sound of bees provide a sensory overload to lift the spirits. Even in the darkest times nature weaves her magic. As David Hockney says "Spring Cannot Be Cancelled"
016 - Primavera - Roz Avent
Oil on linen panel, painted on site. My enthusiasm is primarily for colour, no matter how 'correct' or not it is. So long as the feeling of the place is obvious, then it is correct!
017 - Dry Creek Elphinstone - Smiley Williams
Imagine a step through this door and into history, journeying back possibly 4000 years. Nestled in a Churchyard in Crowhurst Surrey England, this Yew tree was revered and worshipped by Celtic tribes. Hollowed out in 1820, it is believed to have been used as a place for meetings for up to 15 people. This Majestic tree now watches over the dead in the church yard and maybe, just maybe the souls are meeting within those gnarled wall where their debates remain secret and unchallenged.
018 - Guardian of Souls - Carolyn Holl
Stranded on the shoreline’ is a personal comment on the plight of the environment and specifically the glacier melts, which is alarming to say the least. In my art practice I work with images from the past and imbue them with contemporary significance. Referenced from an old photograph, I was drawn to this particular iceberg which has long since gone. By painting the iceberg in the present it is my aim is transform it into something material, to secure it, or sadly consider it lost.
With a limited palette this stylised landscape seeks to visualise the effect of light as it casts highlights and shadows across the landscape, recalling the good pasture in 'granite country,' dotted with large boulders and big trees, that stretches west from Mount Alexander to the foothills of the Grampians.
021 - Dry Trees in Granite Country - Geoff Hocking
029 - Stitching Together the Landscape - Lois Denham
Recently , seeking respite from the summer heat, I stumbled across this cool gully in the rainforest near Lorne. I was inspired to capture it's essence in paint, to bring its' tranquility for others to enjoy. Inviting others to see what I see, the colours bouncing off one another; to experience the stillness, the solitude , the connection to the Australian bush. Hearing the bird calls and the distant hum of the ocean.
023 - ‘Cool Gully’ Lorne, Victoria - Lyn Sutton
I painted this scene after a trail walk through Kalimna Trail Castlemaine on a misty morning in late winter.To share with others the colours playing off one another, The vibrant yellows of wattle, soft grey dusty miller and a myriad of budding wildflowers waiting to burst into bloom having pushed through the harsh pink rocky ground. Dead branches had beauty with orange fungi and bright mosses clinging to them. Being enveloped in beautiful vistas with birds calling and small creatures scurrying away, encased in a light canopy Iron Barks and Grey Box is one of lifes' simple pleasures .
024 - Misty Morning on Kalimna Trail - Lyn Sutton
Overwhelmed is a mixed media artwork on wooden board, where I have attempted to tell the story of how Aphantasia, a condition that renders my visual memories blank, affects my life. My memories become a series of facts about feelings, occurrences, patterns and colours. Overwhelmed is based on my limited recall of the Flinders Street and Swanston Street intersection. Along with the limited memories, facts and a 30 year cartographic career I captured the essence of place. To record the ephemeral nature of my memories I have used charcoal, while adopting ink and acrylic to portray the facts.
026 - Overwhelmed - Peta Tranquille
Finalist
What an amazing landscape we live in! So many parts of it dug over by gold miners. Yet in amongst the ruins and invasive species nature is trying to heal the landscape. How can we enhance nature’s innate capacity for repair? We try to ‘mend’ the bush, save/repair patches of remanent bush land, perhaps connecting them together to help species and habit loss. In the end we are but mere players in something larger just assisting what is already naturally happening above and below the ground. That is the essence of this place.
My Chewton studio is located alongside the Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Track, a landscape I frequently walk in. The landscape here is a combination of remnants of past abuse done to the landscape primarily through gold mining, but it is also a place of incredible beauty and magnificent regeneration. The laying down of tracks here not only speaks to a site once devastated and now scarred, but also to an immersive experience of a landscape. V49 A Path or Track Laid Down for Walking invites the viewer to come inside and traverse its atmosphere in all its complexity.
031 - V49 A Path or Track Laid Down for Walking - Greg Wood
Colours of Home was made between May and August 2023. Inspired by walking the parks of Ipswich QLD, I chose a childlike view from amongst the tree branches. I played on canvas with acrylic paint, wool felt, and cotton embroidery to create a lively landscape with which I hope to ignite the viewer's consideration of sensation. The contrasting textiles highlight memories of soft flower petals and patterned tree barks. Framed in simple white (44.5cm x 61.5cm) with no glass, the work is unfiltered to invite the viewer in.
032 - Colours of Home - Adelle Chodkiewicz
“Pink Dreaming” Painting the feeling that comes from looking out across a valley will, for me, always involve more pink than perhaps some people think is right.
033 - Pink Dreaming - Rachel Turner
036 - Morning at the top of the hill - Damian Callanan
034 - South West Studio Eastern Light - Michelle Caithness
Finalist
This painting captures the world of the studio, the keystone of my collaboration with sculptor and partner, Clive Murray-White. I document Clive and his work subject to effects of light and atmosphere. Enveloped by the Victorian Volcanic Plains, the environment and changing weather are clearly visible from windows and doors on all four sides of the space. The external landscape appears to flood into the small space, creating a sensory point of quiet contemplation. There are endless discoveries to make; the constant reorganisation of equipment, the random pattern of tools as they lay, marble sculptures relocated to observe.
Gulpa Island National Park, just north of Echuca in NSW is a hallowed place. It contains sites of Aboriginal signifance and I have made several trips over the years. This work was painted on site and is from a series made along the Gulpa Creek. I hope it contains something of the essence of this tranquil and evocative landscape.
035 - Gulpa Island Dreaming Jennie Stewart
Finalist
I am chasing a feeling. I am chasing the movement of the sun and shadows and changes of atmosphere, in this case, an opaque media, oil paint to capture a poetry there are no words for. What you see is the residue of that chase. Even in the stillness there is movement and in the deep shadows shivering colours. The media varies with an image from graphite to watercolour , pen and ink or oil paint. My practice in plein air is always to aim to grasp an essence. An essence of place and time.
I am deeply inspired by the natural world and the way in which it holds and shapes us. This painting represents the flow of water, being in a flow state, as one with water as it falls and runs, directed and held by the rocks and earth as too I am held by them all. My goal is to create paintings that inspire a sense of wonder and connection with the magnificence of the world, and that encourage viewers to explore their own internal landscapes and emotional responses to place.
037 - Waterfall - Selina Wilson
I am always uplifted by the wonderful surprise that the golden wattle gives each year, heralding in the spring, I have tried to capture the ephemeral clouds of gold which hover through the forest while the choughs glide by.My use of pointillist technique adds to the soft blending of colour through the forest.
038 - Box Forest Spring - Paul Ryan
Finalist
On a camping trip to Hattah Kulkine N.P. in May this year I painted watercolours of Lake Hattah. It's Mallee country: a unique landscape of stunted vegetation, open and flat, the soil dry and sandy and often without rain. It manages to survive. I used a horizontal strips to capture both the expanse of water and the strong sunlight of noon that bleaches the landscape. In the late afternoon I focused on the sun setting, where the light begins to mellow and intensify the colour of the water. This highlights the distant whiteness of the gum trees as like bones.
039 - Light, Views across Lake Hattah, 2023 - Judy Perfect
Working en plein air in Orange, NSW on the Printhie vineyard to document the property.
041 - Printhie Property - Martin Claydon
Working en plein air in Orange, NSW on the Printhie vineyard to document the property.
042 - Printhie Property #2 - Martin Claydon
Watercolour inspires and captures wide open spaces of land and cloud through the liquidity of wet and tooth of the surface for me. The rectangle of canvas allows the sweep of the mark to release the energy of the storm at the end of the brushstroke. Walkers Lookout on Flinders Island as a storm blew in and icy winds lashed the landscape fed the creation of this painting. Painted in July 2023.
043 - Show me storm magic - Kath McCann
“I saw in this image of the land below me an undreamed-of freedom from formal arrangement. I was thrilled. My country! My own country. Unknown to me. Its history mysterious, inscribed in the hieroglyphics and elaborate arabesques of its unrecognised landforms, waiting to be deciphered. ...my inner voice announced to me, No one has painted this. It was a thought that carried for me the force of revelation. No one has painted it. It is uncelebrated. Untouched by my culture. And (what is more) it is undreamed in the dreams of Europe.”
Alex Miller, Journey To The Stone Country
044 - Larapinta Diptych - Michael Wolfe
The bush and water along the Yowaka River (near Pambula NSW) provided inspiration for a series of paintings. From our tent perched high on a cliff, there were spectacular views upstream and downstream. The river water was clear but stained the colour of tea from the tree-tannin, it had the ability to reflect and intensify the blue of the sky. The dark colours of deep water and it’s iridescent-blue reflections were punctuated with biscuit yellow rocks. The banks were dotted with brave white ti-trees: twisted, tough and hardy like bonsai, they stood proud amongst the debris of the recent floods.
045 -Yowaka River 1 - View Upstream - Esther Schouten
The bush and water along the Yowaka River, where we camped near Pambula NSW, provided inspiration for a series of paintings. The river water was clear but stained the colour of tea from the tree-tannin, it had the ability to reflect and intensify the blue of the sky. Near our camp site a creek ran into the Yowaka river, the trees and scrub grew over the creek forming a gentle embrace. I produced a number of water colour sketches on site later using them as a starting point for a series of expressionistic works in oil.
045 -Yowaka River 2 - Embrace - Esther Schouten
Drawing is its own language– a visual poetry and a vehicle to gain insight from. An expression not only of subject, but of self – through line, movement, shade, light, form and touch. The making of marks can be intimate, gestural, story telling, observational – at once figurative and abstract. Winter, Mt. Buffalo No.4 began with intimate sketches of an expansive landscape – responding to and resonating with the natural surrounds, fog, mist, lack of clarity of form. This drawing expresses my observation, explores my response and ways to convey the landscape and sense of place.
047 - Winter, Mt. Buffalo #4 - Stacey Zass
Finalist
049 - South Side - Nina Ryan
The aim of this painting is to transcend the subject in order to arrive at a deeper meaning of this landscape.
050 - Pilbara Reverie: Essence of Earth and Time - Lynette McNaughton
This work explores the connections between memory and place by reflecting on an experience that contributed to my understanding of my queer identity, and the site where it occurred. Through the examination of significant landscapes, I contemplate how the psyche of my surroundings has infused memories, and equally how my experiences have left intangible traces at each site. The title reflects on the memory with honesty and humour, encouraging viewers to engage with the humanity of queer lived experiences, and to consider their own relationship to place.
048 - One I’d rather forget - Nick Heynsberg
Immersed in the overwhelming beautiful expanse of the Pilbara landscape, I felt a profound privilege in my fleeting connection with its timeless grandeur. I chose to paint oil on board, with a limited palette, enjoying the tactile experience, vibrancy of colours, and the power of being able to manipulate it with ease. "My personal experience, reference photos and notes taken, provided me with the inspiration to capture the essence of the Pilbara through my artwork".
‘Talking at Night’ is about that special moment in the late evening when there is a lull in the conversation and the sounds of the natural environment fill the space between you. What a magical moment. Painting completed: 27th August 2023. Acrylic on timber panel.
051 - Talking at Night - Jodi McCord
My artwork captures the essence of the landscape, depicting the transition from Mt. Tarrengower to Mt. Alexander, having painted on plein air at both sites. Composition takes centre stage, shaped by my involvement in paint outs at these locations. Using oil on board for outdoor work, I opt for a limited palette, and a firm surface when employing a palette knife to craft texture and manipulate paint . My Inspiration for this painting stems from the historical significance of these places, particularly their ties to 19th century gold mining, which holds personal meaning for me.
052 - Symphony of summit gaze - Lynette McNaughton
By treating the sunflower with renewed perspective, I invite viewers to re-evaluate conventional subjects and find fresh meaning within them. By challenging the notion of trite subjects through innovative mark making, I have treated the background and subject equally and blurred the distinction between the two. This intentional choice is underscored by the interconnectedness of life. To infuse even the most familiar scenes with newfound significance, I ask viewers to look at the familiar with presence and openness to how something that we take for granted can offer new meaning.
053 - A Trite Motif - Jessie Cunningham
056 - No Small Matter - Linda Dunstan
Finalist
This work celebrates us all being in this space together.Every living element of our landscape, whether it be micro or macro is of equal value . Painted August 2023.
060 - After the Warrumbungle Inferno - Val Wilkinson
Finalist
My artwork is inspired by the landscape in central Victoria. The space between the rocks creates a space for light to seep through and the passing of time connects to how the light and the colour change all the time. The mixed medium of pastel and printed collagraph on beautiful Fabriano Rosapina paper gives me the ability to respond to the texture of the rock, to embed the texture of the moss and the lichen in the paper itself.
054 - Space and Time - Julie Patey
Finalist
This painting is one in a series of works painted alongside a particular road in a semi-rural area nearby. Working with fluid oil paint, en plein air, I try to capture the mood and sense of this place. I've been intrigued by the many facets of this environment where the land is used as a source of food production. It is an organism filled with energy, where the fruit trees change colours, and fog, light, and wind blanket the area. People alter the landscape too. Fields are ploughed and replanted, new buildings are carved into the landscape.
055 - Enriched - Chris Delpratt
Finalist
TIME OUT Pitching a tent is one of the best ways to see, smell and hear the sounds of the Australian bush. Nature gives us the opportunity to relax and escape from the stresses of urban life. Last summer, we drove through miles of burnt bushland to reach a campground untouched by recent fires. Looking out through the tent flap, I could see just a fraction of the surrounding landscape. I was struck by the beauty and preciousness of the image in front of me. How long will it still be there? Time is running out.
057 - TIME OUT - Lovell Rosie
This piece aims to convey the pure essence of the Australian landscape in abstract form. The visual characteristics vary so much throughout Australia, with such diverse and dramatic landscapes. One thing however remains, the recognisable green and gold hues we associate with this vast country. Through abstract mark making, I have aimed to capture this essence, depicting drama, movement and diverse abstract territories. My main inspiration was Hanging Rock and the surrounding landscapes.
058 - Majestic lands of green and gold at Hanging Rock - Nunzio Miano
'Myall Lakes' represents a visual investigation of the Australian landscape through a particular aesthetic perspective. It is part of a new series of works inspired by the elegance of Chinese and Japanese traditional painting with their appreciation of ‘ma’ or negative space. My work references Chinoiserie on Delftware which informs the style and colours of this painting with a particular focus on the linear and graphic beauty of our bushland.
059 - Myall Lakes - Cathy Yarwood - Mahy
In May, 2014 I drove into Wurrumbungle National Park NSW. The previous year a ferocious fire had razed most of it, the heat so intense that the gums were struggling to regenerate. The native black pines never will. The only upside of this catastrophe were the unobstructed views of the spectacular jagged volcanic spires, plugs and peaks, including the iconic 'Breadknife' visible from my camp site. This acrylic work on canvas, completed in 2021, was developed from one of many en plein air sketches created as I hiked through an horrifically denuded landscape seven years earlier.
064 - Granite Hillside at Baringhup - Diane Williams
067 - Late Winter - Early Spring Back of Harcourt - Stephen Phillis
After a good snow season, wildflower in the alpine areas are in profusion and blanket the area in swathes. The vegetation is lowlying while the meadows are dotted with rocks, little waterholes, and larger bodies of water flowing through aquaducts. Paths and tracks, formed by cattle in the past, and bushwalkers now, meander through the meadows. I have referenced one of these meadows, Heathy Spur. In my painting I avoid realism but, rather, try to reflect the feeling of the place. Hence there are no actual bushes, trees, rocks, or creeks, but reference these through marks, colours and brush strokes.
061 - Healthy Spur - Eva Miller
Finalist
The billabong in Kew is a small bushland area surrounded by a narrow treed area with lowlying growth left natural and wild. It is a piece of natural bushland. However, it is surrounded by a highway on one side, sports oval on the other and parkland which is popular with walkers, runners, dogs and children. A walking path surrounds much of it. The water capacity of the billabong is very much depended on seasonal rainfall . Sometimes it is full and other times very shallow. At times the water is virtually puddles.
062 - Kew Billabong- Eva Miller
063 - Mapped out by the stars - Kath McCann
Finalist
' Mapped out by the stars' is the sensation of experiencing this plateau of land and sky on Flinders Island. Shapes and patterns manifest as the watercolour and the water meet on the canvas and blend and create at the end of the brush and this to me is the excitement and feeling of the essence of place. Painted in July 2023. Resident of Maldon.
This is the landscape of my place of quiet reflection and contemplation of all things that make up my life and the world at large. It is an endlessly fascinating place of seasonal changes and amazing geological granite formations, rugged acacia trees and grasses. Approaching this work using Mixed Media together with acrylics challenges me and provides greater freedom to reflect this wild landscape, its beauty, its harshness and its endless fascination.
I keep this extract by Australian poet Bruce Dawe near my easel: "Treasure the burgeoning sky, the ample air, treasure the million leaves the seasons where you walk with your loving kind like a child again . . ." That is the type of wonder I hope to convey. The place is the Alfred Nicholas Gardens in Olinda in the Dandenongs. My aim with many of paintings is to recreate the disorienting nature of walking through forest; the sense of being dwarfed by the trees, the way the horizon can be obscured and our perspective thrown out of kilter.
065 - The height of Autumn (pair) - Karen van Ulzen
Ancient Yellow Box is a drawing I've been working on (plain aire) over two years. I kept returning to this tree over and over to try and capture its essence through change of seasons and light. I'd sometimes work in extreme detail then rub out sections, it was constant redrawing, reworking, removing or adding. As the seasons light changed the trees whole being changed. Through this process I saw no change in its physical structure, yet it is a living growing organism. I came to realize through time I was a brief flickering shadow beneath this towering monument of time.
066 - Ancient Yellow Box - Naomi Mathews
My place. I venture to this area often - for the feeling opf the place: the colours are interposed, not jusst one colour but various colours, then other colours in another area. on the canvas I try to intermingle with each other - oposite colours to fight each other as well to produce a painting.
My place. I venture to this area often - for the feeling opf the place: the colours are interposed, not jusst one colour but various colours, then other colours in another area. on the canvas I try to intermingle with each other - oposite colours to fight each other as well to produce a painting.
068 - Tortured - Dianna Donelan
We live on the edge of Kalimna Park and face the forest. We walk regularly through the bush and I am fascinated by the variations in colour and tone as the light changes with the seasons, each day and the time of day. I am a representational painter and endeavour to convey my impressions of the landscape with colour and tone in simplified shapes and forms. I have portrayed the subdued tones of a winter's evening and captured the quintessential dog walker winding their way home.
070 - Winter evening, Kalimna Park - Russell Annear
In my work, I look at a place's physical representation and the transient and often strange qualities that define it. Encouraging the viewer to recognize the beauty of everyday places, even as they evolve and change over time. Inspired by a brief glance from a car window while driving down the Bruce Highway. The work comes from a singular moment that no longer exists and maybe never did. It is an ode to the transient nature of all things, capturing the fleeting beauty of the ever-changing landscape.
071 - A sign, fence and horses - Lucy Ray
This is the Tomb shrine of Avatar Meher Baba in Meherabad, India. Once you step over the threshold, you enter a space that feels like the center of the universe. The heart center opens up, and fills with the essence of Love.
072 - Sacred Interiors - Tricia Migdoll
My coastal wonderland is my spiritual space providing my sense of connection. I give voice to the landscape through my daily walking ritual immersing myself in her presence. Nature alerts my senses; the roar of the ocean, the smell of the Moonah trees, the twitter of birds, the trickling of water in the rock pools, all nurture my soul and feed my creative spirit. Through observations, experiences, immersion and then memory I hope to create an emotional connection which speaks louder than words. Colours, textures, patterns and nature’s minutiae all have their part to play within my quiet landscapes.
073 - Just a Breath - Shirley Ploog
Finalist
Quiet little glades of light in hidden places along the river Loddon fascinate me. Something I experience as I walk the dogs. I find them, despite being humble places both optimistic and uplifting. This painting was an experiment in large format watercolour. My emphasis here is afternoon light but also to show how watercolour can be both bold and subtle, with a vibrancy of colour.
074 - A Glimmer of Hope - Marcus Holtback
080 - The Door to the Garden - Philip James Mylecharane
Aberneithie engages with accepted notions of landscape painting being both ornamental yet chiming with deeper chords of nationalism, identity and conservation. Developed from intuitive photographs taken around the Great Ocean Road and the Grampian area of Victoria, it sits neatly within the area between drawing and painting. Joyous in colour, the works celebrate the fertility of Australia’s land. Upon closer inspection each piece is contrasted by rhinestone gems applied decoratively. These ‘decorative bushes’ whilst professing the sublimity of nature, also riff on the traditions of aesthetic beauty posing important questions about oil derivatives, industrial manufacturing and the imminency of deforestation.
075 - Decorative Brush 9 - Tom Aberneithie
Aberneithie engages with accepted notions of landscape painting being both ornamental yet chiming with deeper chords of nationalism, identity and conservation. Developed from intuitive photographs taken around the Great Ocean Road and the Grampian area of Victoria, it sits neatly within the area between drawing and painting. Joyous in colour, the works celebrate the fertility of Australia’s land. Upon closer inspection each piece is contrasted by rhinestone gems applied decoratively. These ‘decorative bushes’ whilst professing the sublimity of nature, also riff on the traditions of aesthetic beauty posing important questions about oil derivatives, industrial manufacturing and the imminency of deforestation.
076 - Decorative Brush 6 - Tom Aberneithie
This was painted on a small panel, plein air when Joyces Creek Newstead was low. I always liked the little painting and last July I decided to paint a larger canvas in the studio. I loved the light in this subject and that is what drew me paint it. I am also interested in how this creek changes from being a winding and snake like water way to becoming a large lake and I love to paint the changes.
077 - Mystic Hour - Liadaan 0
Finalist
079 - Draft for Collected Interior - Philip James Mylecharane
This work is from a series of interior landscapes, and proposes a different form of landscape; one that avoids mythologising nature, wildness and appeals to utopian ideals around our relationship with nature. Rather it is using landscape, in particular the interior, as a reflection on the artifice and temporal form of the buildings and structures that we inhabit.
This work is from a series of interior landscapes, and proposes a different form of landscape; one that avoids mythologising nature, wildness and appeals to utopian ideals around our relationship with nature. Rather it is using landscape, in particular the interior, as a reflection on the artifice and temporal form of the buildings and structures that we inhabit.
There is a small grove of old and gnarled trees on Mole Creek Road that reminded me of my childhood in the Yarra Valley. I had forgotten about these trees until visiting friends who had moved to Deloraine, Tasmania and I spotted this grove over their garden fence. The two trees in front are multi stemmed deciduous Cherry Plums. Behind them is a Laurel, evergreen and dense. I started painting these trees in 2021 with acrylic on hand made paper but was not happy with the results until re working with oil paint, pigment and wax crayon in 2023.
081 - Old Black Tree - Winter - Tony Scott
There is a small grove of old and gnarled trees on Mole Creek Road that reminded me of my childhood in the Yarra Valley. I had forgotten about these trees until visiting friends who had moved to Deloraine, Tasmania and I spotted this grove over their garden fence. The two trees in front are multi stemmed deciduous Cherry Plums. Behind them is a Laurel, evergreen and dense. I started painting these trees in 2021 with acrylic on hand made paper but was not happy with the results until re working with oil paint, pigment and wax crayon in 2023.
082 - Old Red Tree - Summer Tony Scott
The work serves as a reflection on the intangible stories that exist with the natural world. The stoic permanence of stone emerges with the ephemeral nature of memory, prompting contemplation of the narratives with the earth’s layers. Stones have a unique ability to preserve the memories and secrets of a place, bearing the marks of time and the traces of the events unfolding around them. Trees stand tall and resilient symbolising life and growth, juxtaposed with the enduring presence of the stones they form a visual dialogue reflecting the essence of place.
083 - Ephemeral Whispers - Nadia Kliendanze
‘Desert Ripples’ was inspired by a visit to Mungo National Park. The contrast of colour between the deep ultramarine of the sky and iron-stained sand is eye-catching. But it was the sand ripples that truly spoke to me. They seemed to be on a journey as they travelled into the distance, sometimes converging, sometimes ending abruptly and often continuing on a path to an unseen future. The ripples seemed to me to be a metaphor for life’s journey with all its twists and turns. Being part of aboriginal land also prompted me to feel that the ripples are metaphorical songlines.
084 - Desert Ripples - Pamela Gleeson
Stone Talk is a colour reduction linoprint using a dremel. Stones have a unique ability to preserve the memories and secrets of a place, as they bear the marks of time and the traces of the events that have unfolded around them. These stones, weathered and marked by the elements, are like ancient manuscripts that contain the narratives of the land. Through the fusion of the tactile and the intangible, this print endeavours to evoke an essence of place, prompting viewers to uncover their own stories within the work.
085 - StoneTalk - Nadia Kliendaze
Finalist
When I walk in the bush I am calm and at peace, the same as when I create art in my studio. My piece has been created from collating local flora and placing the pieces onto a scanner bed and scanning the picture. I then print the scan as a pigment Giclee print onto archival cotton rag in black and white. From here I hand colour it using my experience of the bush as reference. I use pastels, pencils and other media to create a mood of subtle bush colours that evoke slowing down and peacefulness. February 2023.
087 - Mindful Landscape- Sharon Greenaway
Finalist
On a recent road trip to Western Australia, I was mesmerized by the "on and on" of the road. With little variation in the vegetation on either side, the road became the focus of our landscape. It just kept going, straight ahead, over rise after gentle rise, as if it was determined to reach its destination without deviation. This painting was completed on 20 August 2023. It is oil on board and framed.
089 - Heading West - Lesley Henstridge
090 - Looking Up - Lesley Henstridge
Finalist
091 - La Niña Pond - Peter David Watts
093 - Duggan Street Corner - Greame Galloway
Finalist
Walking through the spectacular Alligator Gorge, the vibrant colours of its rock walls were truly astounding. At every turn the changing light produced endless contrasts and compositions. By midday I felt quite overwhelmed by the constant vibrancy. When we paused for lunch in a shady spot, I looked up to see this very different aspect of the gorge - the rocks seemed to have been carefully laid - and it was almost strange to see open sky after the confines of the deep, narrow gorge. I completed this painting on 15 July 2023. Itis oil on board and framed.
With so much rain these past few La Niña years the many Central Victorian creeks, ponds and dams have been filling to overflow even during the Summer. My picture is a celebration of blue skies reflected on a small pond of water in the box ironbark woodlands. Drawn en plain air and completed in the studio, emphasis here is a meeting of water and earth along the shadowed bank in morning Summer light. Pastel draw on Saunders Waterford 638g/m2
The changing colours of early evening are reflected in the clouds, the landscape itself loses definition as the light fades. Looking west from the walking track at Bankin Hill in Learmonth, this ephemeral view shows the enormity of the sky up here in this part of the world. Working from sketches and photo reference, this portrait of the landscape is painted in oils on stretched linen.
092 - Early Evening - Lisa Nolan
Finalist
A country bend in the road heading up into a cathedral of trees
A place of wonder, beneath the expanse of sky and surrounded by granite, rock wells embody transformative states of flow and stillness. They hold energy, sustenance, reflections, and memory. Having solace in connection to places such as this enhances a deeper understanding of nature's inherent wisdom and resilience. Mixed Media on Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Black 300 gsm 2023
094 - Source - Kat Richards
Finalist
095 - Sunny Ridge - Graeme Galloway
Finalist
Love the contrast between the bright sunny ridge line and the deeply shadowed foreground
102 - Trace Memory- Peter Berner
Finalist
104 - Broken bridge, Larni Barramal Yaluk - Bill Beasley
When I first encountered Mt Alexander I was immediately transported to another world. Whilst meandering between the rocks and the trees I was overcome by the magical alluring quality of the space. The natural rhythm of the leaves, bark and rocks revealed a decorative presence that I could not ignore.
098 - Downward Passage - Mt Alexander - Julie Goodwin
Finalist
Upon my initial encounter with Mt Alexander, I was instantaneously transported to an alternative realm. The intricate intermingling of the trees, forming a convoluted tapestry that extended to the background, allured me into the midst of the dense, disorderly environment.
099 - Entangled - Mt Alexander - Julie Goodwin
Finalist
In this painting I wish to capture the essence of my Otway Bush landscape found on my property on the Surf Coast near Lorne. When I go into a new place in the natural environment I sketch, make gouache paintings and photograph what I see directly.Then I enter the studio to create my oil paintings that interlink colour, shape, line and texture with my memories, imagination and emotional states that I experience. These elements are brought together into an abstract/expressionistic pictorial relationship across the surface of the painting to provide the viewer with a new vision of the Australian Landscape.
100 - Intimate Bush Mosaic - Barbra Bateman
Sometimes I become overwhelmed with thoughts about our world and where we are headed. In a eucalypt forest filled with grass trees, I found peace, sanctuary. Brushing over their green tips, I experienced a kind of revelation. If we are to live in a peaceful way, we need to connect at our most fundamental level; we are all human beings, and share this planet as our home. On this solid bedrock, fertile soil of mutual respect gathers. From this earth understanding grows like grass trees. Fronds like green arms reach out to touch the passer-by with kindness, love and empathy.
101 - Sanctuary - Angus Wishart
Hopefully it offers a quiet place to think on things that were once, but may not be anymore.
The remote cliffs of the Kimberly rise from the water, a mass of rugged shapes piling in all directions . My artwork attempts to convey some of the strength of this majestic landscape
103 - Kimberly Wild - Christine McColl
Larni BarramulYaluk is the traditional name of what was known as Jim Crow Creek, a name that has it's origins in American anti black racism. In Djarra language it means Home of the Emu Creek. For several years the bridge at Franklinford has been in a state of disrepair and despite being a wonderful subject to paint, the removal of the creek's derogatory name might herald a new coming together, (and a new bridge)!
live in California Gully, and my landscape is a consequence of the Central Victorian gold rush. This landscape has been torn apart; the mining past is evident, displaying a landscape with an inherent scarred beauty. This work reveal smy love of cartography and mapping the landscape surrounding me, drawing on different perspectives to capture my experience of this landscape. The shapes of trails, water races, and dry, eroded river beds influence my image-making. The aerial and frontal perspectives overlay is a deliberate attempt to clarify this landscape.
105 - Quartz Gully - Jaqui Lynch
Looking up can be about dreaming, imagining a different world, being transported by feelings and colours and light. In this work I wanted to capture that sense of possibilities, of no horizon, of adventure and unique experience.
106 - Canopy - Mark Fuller
Leanganook (Mt Alexander) can be many characters, but there is always an air of mystery about the rocks and tree forms, which often mirror each other. There is a sense of echoes and silence, of being alone but in the presence of others. Dark and light, colour and monochrome, detail and panorama. My painting tries to capture some of this from a misty day with flashes of light as the mist clears.
107 - Leanganook - Mark Fuller
Finalist
From 2015 I spent nearly 3 years on a long-term artist residency at Clifton Pugh's Dunmoochin where I began to refine my ideas of the Australian landscape. During that time, the 'Black Dam' was the inspiration for many of my drawings, watercolour and oil paintings. I continue to find inspiration in the many hundreds of photos I have taken of the place, and return yearly to reconnect and be reinspired.
108 - The Black Dam in Colour II - Jodie Stewart
This piece depicts Lake Cairn Curran in winter. I visited the reservoir with my Mum and sister last year, some months after my father passed away. The three of us had spent the day together and drove to the lake at dusk where we stayed til dark, slowly walking and chatting, observing rocks and sediment washed up on the shore from the old mine. The quiet, sombre mood of the landscape seemed to echo how I felt at the time, and so it was a comfort to be in these surrounds as we talked and reflected on memories of Dad.
109 - Lake Cairn Curran - Lucy Roleff
‘Morning Mists’ was inspired by the winter mists that lay in the valleys near my home of Glenlyon. There always seems to be a sense of mystery about a mist covered landscape. One wonders what lies beneath in the valleys, what wonders are in store for us when the mist finally lifts with the warming day. Although this work is purely imaginary, I hoped to convey a sense of the unknown and what those swirling, rising mists will finally reveal.
110 - Morning Mists - Pamela Gleeson
This place “here”, a feeling of connection, of belonging, of being home! Meditation on Place has taken a central place in my thinking and with that, an increased awareness of nature, of spirit, and what it means to be a custodian of the land. As a city dweller all my life, I am all too aware of how much there is to learn of the natural world. Slowly I begin to notice things, to read the signs, to observe changes, seasons, rhythms. It is all part of learning about Place and with that comes a greater feeling of connection.
111- I stepped through! - Eleni Rivers
The promise of a better life, gold and opportunity had been the motivation for our family to come out from England to a place called Bendigo, in 1923. While the promise of prosperity did not come to fruition, instead the loss of two children and hardship , a new family was started and grew. Now 100 years later, those memories are but ghosts but a new reality, that this is our home and our solace., where we have built a life and share this beautiful land.
113 - Solace in the Goldfields - Lee Trewartha
116 - A Walk With Loved Ones - Robert Maclaurin
119 - Brendan painting at Guilford (Winter) - Mark Dober
120 - What Lies Beneath - Marketa Kemp
Finalist
Bells swamp is at the end of my road. It is a haven for Twitchers, and most recently was in the news for a rare sighting of the Australian Painted-Snipe. The Swamp also had cases of avian botulism killing hundreds of ducks earlier this year. This painting shows the quiet reflections and some of the local bird life.
114 - Untitled - Kerry Punton
115 - Wild Winter Mountain, Leanganook - Robert Maclaurin
Winner
Leanganook has been a continuous place of inspiration to me for over twenty two years, since arriving in the area from Scotland to make Mount Alexander shire my home and studio. My first painting expedition in 2000 was made there and is a constant place of return. Plein air painting, along my professional studio practise, hugely benefits my understanding of what Spirit of Place really means. Wild Winter Mountain, Leanganook was painted during a cold misty, wind-torn morning in August. Made harder by the conditions, it was a battle of a painting to produce.
'A Walk With Lived Ones' is an image of the Fife coast in Scotland. My sister lives here, my wife Jean is from here and many walks and paintings have been made along this particular stretch of coastline. Since a boy I have carried a small sketchbook in my pocket, never knowing when I might stop to make a drawing. These drawings are works in there own right but lead to inspiration for paintings made in the studio. This painting depicts an actual walk along this wild coastline by myself, my wife and my sister in 2008.
In using oil, acrylic, pencil and pastel, "And Skies Above" has layered the reflections, action on, above and under water. The cliche of swirls and history of goldfish in art is hidden under the energy and mark making of the eventual surface of the artwork. Tension is connecting and cutting through each thought and pencil line.
117 - And Skies Above - Liz Sullivan
Finalist
Forest tangle, Mt Alexander represents a direct response to nature, made on location in the forest surrounds of Castlemaine. I view looking and mark making as integrated expressions: I have conveyed in paint my perception of the spatial relationships and textures of this tangled and jumbled environment. While I have sought a tactile engagement with my subject I can also feel a sense of loneliness about being in the forest, as if I am intruding into a private realm.
118 - Forest tangle, Mt Alexander - Mark Dober
Finalist
From time to time I go out painting locally with artist friends. On this occasion it was a cold winter's day. A storm was coming. I worked quickly to catch the moment. This work was completed in 2023.
Title: What Lies Beneath Medium: monotype As an artist, I find inspiration in landscapes that have left a deep impression on me, in places rich in atmosphere, hidden life, and mystery. The piece What Lies Beneath represents that which is hidden in nature, rather than what we generally admire as the obvious. The life beneath the surface, which makes all the wonders in the natural world happen.
Title: Woodland Song Medium: monotype Although not a representational painter, most of my work is based on real locations I have visited. I try to capture how it ‘felt’ rather than how it ‘looked’ and leave the rest up to the viewer to interpret in whichever way is meaningful to them. It always a very personal affair. The piece Woodland Song captures a moment in time where all senses came alive, a moment of utter happiness for no particular reason at all.
121 - Woodland Song - Marketa Kemp
My work is an ongoing exploration of the Australian landscape and its incomparably primitive artistry. Placing emphasis on its fragility when faced with the power of mother nature, and the affectations natural phenomena can impart upon the human psyche, my work is informed by the natural environment and an innate sense of place.
122 - A glance to remember - Belinda Wilson
Gan Gan lookout with its Gymea Lilies, of which are actually flowering at the moment as this special place looks over the Bay of Port Stephens. Purched high on the hill with 360degree views and surrounded by hundreds of Gymea Lilies I couldn’t resist in doing some quick drawings and lots of photos giving me the ideas for some paintings with these big red flowers. I started painting on linen with an acrylic base colour and oils painted over the acrylics to give the detail and depth into the bush, giving you a sense of place.
123 - Gan Gan- Gymea Lilies - Stevan Jankovic
In April this year I spent ten days in the desert at Fowler’s Gap, NSW. The red dirt desert was almost overwhelming in its intensity of colour, contrast and texture. Early mornings, long before sunrise, in the cool shelter of the dry creek bed was where I felt called to. The creek bed was a carpet of the smoothest rocks, worn down by the ages. Oaten-coloured grasses lined the creek, stark gums, towering inwards enveloped all. I feel deeply invested in making new artwork in response to the profound experience of the desert. Completed September 2023
124 - Red Dirt Girl - Philomena Carroll
Davies Creek Falls is high in the mountains up far north Queensland. After swimming at the top of the falls gives you a sense of place as I was laying on the edge, as the water cascades over the side of the falls and the granite boulders into the valley below. I started painting with acrylics as a base colour on linen, with oils over the top giving the detail of the rounded rocks and the trees down to the bottom of the falls.
125 - On the Edge- Steven Jankovic
126 - The Lyndhurst - Joe Whyte
Finalist
Having grown up in Melbourne's inner-city, I have long been inspired by it's streets and architecture. Increasingly I use this architecture to explore the idea of the alienation of life within a large city. My work explores the juxtaposition between the close proximity in which we live, and the distance and sense of isolation which so often comes along with that life. This inspiration for this piece came during covid lockdowns. I walked past this building every day, and it stood out more than ever when surrounded by those empty streets.
To achieve the effect of this static landscape I tried to capture the juxtaposition of the weight of the land within the vastness of the this wind-swept channel. I chose a square format to capture and highlight the sense of isolation and simplicity of this place. A limited pallet was compulsory. Oil on canvas.
127 - Windy Day on Moolort Plains - Jennifer Barnett
I was inspired to create Storm clouds, You Yangs I after a recent ferry trip from Melbourne to Geelong. It was winter, cold and cloudy, with rainy turbulent skies interspersed with occasional bursts of sunshine. Through all of this the You Yangs could be glimpsed, appearing and disappearing as the weather changed. This was a perfect subject for me as much of my work is about the transient effects of light and dark in the landscape. I find the freshness and spontaneity of monotypes particularly suited to my way of working.
128 - Storm clouds, You Yangs I - Wayne Viney
Finalist
The work explores the aftermath of Australian bushfires, using acrylic, charcoal, and patel. A blend of fiery red earth tones and subtle smoky gradients capture the raw beauty and resilience of nature following devastation. The canvas serves as a representation of rebirth, symbolizing the cyclical nature of life and death in the Australian landscape. The interplay of charcoal and paint embodies chaos and renewal, reflecting the duality of destruction and creation. Observers are encouraged to immerse themselves in this scorched yet hope-filled landscape, inviting contemplation of the profound forces of nature and their capacity for transformation.
129 - Terra Ignis - Scarlett McDermott
My work represents a visual complexity of change and catharsis. This has become integral in my practice since the devastation of losing everything in a bushfire. It has bled into my sensibility. It is simultaneously philosophical and literal. Ambiguous organic forms. The ambiguity opening diverse interpretations. Beautiful, Whimsical yet solemn. This painting began as an en plein air acrylic sketch in our regenerating virgin bushland. 54 x Completed back in my studio above our gully. Layer upon layer. Many layers, many stories. I followed the lines not knowing where they would lead or why.
130 - return of the wombats view from the gully - Roxanne Lillis
I applied texture to the entire canvas before I stated to paint the image, in order to express a sense of chaos on the threat of the impending storm. I was trying to capture the excitement of anticipation when light leaves the landscape. Oil on canvas.
131 - Looming Storm - Jennifer Barnett
The act of creating within nature seems to be innate in many humans. A subconscious desire to feel more connected through the tactile process. A child building a sandcastle, Christo wrapping a mountain A hiker artfully placing fallen sticks in the hollow remnant of a once majestic tree. These acts create a bridge between nature and us.
132 - A Timeless Creation - Mark Payne
Everywhere in our landscape, principles & elements of design patiently await our attention. Vague & ambiguous, coming into view through our focus, our eyes. Colours, lines, shapes, textures, patterns, repetition, balance. Seeing the big picture, occasionally the fine detail, do we really take time to notice how truly incredible it is? Is it easier when presented in harmonious order? I have used the space surrounding my landscape "paint-prints" as a device to frame them individually, while simultaneously including them all together as one piece. This allows us to focus in on & also see peripherally what we are part of.
133 - Near & Far - Mardene Gill
141 - Mt Tarrengower Water Hole - Christine Hooper
This work provides a view of a waterscape that we don’t often stop to see. It could be one that we might guess was at a trout farm in New Zealand, or that we remembered when viewing the calmer waters displayed in a Manet painting. But the small creeks rushing across the countless landscapes within the Snowy Mountains range, provide for a wide range of interests such as skiing and bushwalking across all seasons of the year. The painting itself copies the slender format that allows aquatic life to dart safely from one shaded cover to another
134 - Jindabyne - Jim Millwood
Finalist
Binalong Bay, my place of peace, my home. Here, I have captured it during a storm, a representation of the constant ebb and flow of our lives. In the distance, a rainbow emerges, a symbol of promise and renewal. Showing that even in the midst of chaos, there can be beauty and hope. Through play with light and shadow, rich hues and gestural brushwork of both ocean and sky, I have aimed to evoke the spirit, the very essence of this place. It is an ode to the intangible; the emotion and memories that infuse the landscape I call home.
136 - After the Storm - Tara Royle
“A skin upon the rugged anatomy of landscape”
Finished in 2023, this drawing is of the remnants of water flow over the sandstone ridge country of the Blue Mountains in NSW. Having walked these ridges for many years and studied how the geology, flora and weather interact so beautifully, this image, for me, is the essence of this particular landscape.
137 - A skin upon the rugged anatomy of landscape - Paula Martin
Campbells Creek is close to my door, I watch the seasons come and go and I am inspired to capture the changing moods and colours of this place. The track is a great example of revegetation undertaken by the local Landcare Group. The arching canopy offers a shady, light dappled walk for all to enjoy in Summer.
139 - Wattle Arbour - Brendan Nicholl
Campbells Creek is close to my door, I watch the seasons come and go and I am inspired to capture the changing moods and colours of this place. The track is a great example of revegetation undertaken by the local Landcare Group. There are mysterious pockets of light and shade along the track that capture the imagination. These gum tree saplings will grow to replace the cracked willows that have been removed.
140 - Between Trees - Brendan Nicholl
147 - Yambuk Lakes - Zoe Amor
148 - Yambuk Lakes - Zoe Amor
Many families live and play in the natural and enchanting beauty of the Macedon Ranges. Eloise is a young girl who travels by road and by walking to dream and play by the Coliban Reservoir. She imagines what it is like in the clouds seen from the car window. Water, fields, trees and kangaroos to touch, climb and mimic. Once there. Eloise is an oil painting of a day of play, suggestive of the myriad of colourful ways the Macedon Ranges landscape is experienced and lived alongside.
142 - Eloise - Robyn Kylie
Reducing to simple shapes and using a limited palette of colour, this watercolour is a personal interpretation conveying feeling for the landscape.
143 - Guilford Landscape - Sam Grumont
In using a combination of oil, acrylic, pencil and pastel, "Above us Only Sky" has the layered reflections and actions on, above and under the water. Swirls and goldfish are seen and hidden under the energy and mark making of the eventual surface of the artwork, evoking the history of the landscape and symbols. Tension is connecting and cutting through each though and pencil line, the four vertically hung boards influenced by Asian landscape painting.
145 - Above Us only Sky - Liz Sullivan
Finalist
"I love nature, I love the landscape,because it is so sincere. It never cheats me. It never jests. It is cheerfully, musically earnest . I Lie and relie on the earth.” - Henry David Thoreau Memory is the fourth dimension of landscape. This work is a construct of elements of landscapes I have experienced over many years of travel, particularly throughout the east coast of Australia and Tasmania. It is intuitively painted from recollection, without reference material of any kind. It asks the viewer to meditate on their experience and relationship with landscape and it’s impact on their being.
146 - Landscape Dreaming - Iain Wilson
Painting en plein air is an utterly absorbing activity. In the landscape with easel and palette, observing the qualities and quantities of light, mixing colours and transferring paint onto canvas for hours; working until something unique happens. You compare viewpoints with your comrades and back in the studio the painting is touched up, left to dry, touched up again and varnished. Then it becomes something essentially other. To the West wind turbines; to the North burning fields and from the Southern ocean to the Yambuk Lakes the traditional lands of the Eastern Maar and Gunditjmara peoples. With respect and thanks.
Painting en plein air is an utterly absorbing activity. In the landscape with easel and palette, observing the qualities and quantities of light, mixing colours and transferring paint onto canvas for hours; working until something unique happens. You compare viewpoints with your comrades and back in the studio the painting is touched up, left to dry, touched up again and varnished. Then it becomes something essentially other. To the West wind turbines; to the North burning fields and from the Southern ocean to the Yambuk Lakes the traditional lands of the Eastern Maar and Gunditjmara peoples. With respect and thanks. atever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Having a deep love of the Australian Landscape, the bush has a particular interest for me. I like to express how I feel about the bush as well as relating to my experience there. The Scribbly gums down in the Southern Highlands NSW and also Victoria, which we have explored, are very beautiful and these gums were my inspiration for my expression of this work.
149 - Scribbly Gum No 1 - Dianne Ingram
Finalist
The Southern end of Queensland's Rainbow Beach would have one of the most distinct stretches of coastline in Australia. A rainbow of yellows, russets, greys and chalky white stone melts to sand with time and weather. This painting aims to capture a moment in time of this ever-changing landscape through movement, colours and textures using acrylic paint on canvas.
150 - Melting Sands - Kalina Brew
Having a deep love of the Australian Landscape, the bush has a particular interest for me. I like to express how I feel about the bush as well as relating to my experience there. The Scribbly Gums down in the Southern Highlands NSW and also Victoria which we have explored are very beautiful, and these gums were my inspiration for my expression of the work. Finished 10/09/23. 2/2
151 - Scribbly Gum No 2 - Dianne Ingram
Celebrating the beautiful bush land essence of the Wombat state forest near Trentham. The fleeting moment of warmth in late afternoon light. Focusing on cast shadows and the golden glow through the trees. Painted in Acrylic on stretched canvas with textured ground using multiple thin layers and glazes to create the illusion of depth and dimension.
152 - Afternoon Delight, Wombat Forest - Helen Cottle
Capturing the moment of silence during a full moon rise over a local landscape near Trentham. The coolness of the atmosphere and mood is held for a brief time just before darkness sets in. Painted in acrylic on stretched canvas using thin veils of paint and colour. Making marks to describe the patterns and connecting shapes that lead the viewer to explore further and take a journey under this lunar illusion.
153 - Moon rise over silent distance, near Trentham - Helen Cottle
This painting was completed en plein air in Central Victoria. I have worked onsite to capture the mood, atmosphere and feeling of a particular place. The palette is restricted and the composition is distilled. Each brushstroke contributes to an overall sense of tranquility and unforced harmony. My hope is that viewers can enjoy the same degree of immersion and connection that I did in the act of painting.
154 - Landscape- Kynan Sutherland
Finalist
155 - Winterlude - Anne Melloy
"Winterlude" depicts a freshly snow-covered path leading to an alpine wilderness. It is a Watercolour painted on 300gsm cotton rag paper.
162 - A Moment of Stillness - Erynn Trewartha Lewicki
Through an impressionistic lens, I captured a moment of stillness and calmness in the landscape, where I briefly escaped from the chaos of the modern world.
"I love our bushland country A land of green and gold I love the way it changes with heat and wind and rain Its fauna and its flora The clay and rocks and stone, with their textures and their patterns Its silence and its beauty Its the place to be" I felt this verse was the best way to describe my work.
156 - Campbells Creek Gold - Kristina Browning
This view of far horizons and distant blue mountains beyond Maldon inspired me to paint this vista. It is a Watercolour painted on 300 gsm cotton rag Arches paper.
157 - Sapphire-Misted Mountains, Maldon - Anne Melloy
The shimmering life of the Box-Ironbark forest of Central Victoria resonates with a complex grief. Surviving the devastation of digging, cutting, sluicing and clearing it became, as the Dja Dja Wurrung named it ‘Upside Down Country’, and carries much sorrow. Housing memories of fortunes lost and found and harbouring hidden shafts to unknown depths, there’s an eerie loud silence. Yet in this present theatre of coppice regrowth, wattles burst, birds duck and weave, wallabies graze and orchids of intricate beauty dance with abandon in this, their home. In the blue shadows of a late afternoon walk, all is considered.
161 - Afternoon Bush Ramble - Marion Williams
Local Ochre is an abstracted response to the landscape surrounding a local ochre pit, near Castlemaine, where I live. I collected, filtered and have incorporated the ochre in this painting to achieve the rich reds and pinks of the area. I love the way these colours contrast boldly with a powder blue Australian sky. I achieve depth through layering, taking off as much paint as I put on, revealing a history of its process. I like it when foreground and background, macro and micro, walk a delicate line, engaging the visual cortex and creating an optically playful field of perception.
163 - Local Orchre - Fianna Madigan
167 - Between the Moon and Maldon is a Magical Place - Pete Goodlet
Big moon wanders on our bush block with my dog Oscar. The moonlight breaks between the trees to be greeted by a chorus of frog song and a play of light and colour on the dam
Local Ochre #1is an abstracted response to the landscape surrounding a local ochre pit, near Castlemaine, where I live. I collected, filtered and have incorporated the ochre in this painting to achieve the rich reds and pinks of the area. I love the way these colours contrast boldly with a powder blue Australian sky. I achieve depth through layering, taking off as much paint as I put on, revealing a history of its process. I like it when foreground and background, macro and micro, walk a delicate line, engaging the visual cortex and creating an optically playful field of perception.
165 - Local Orchre No 1 - Fianna Madigan
Finalist
The Western Districts are home to the last expansive wetlands in Victoria. The lakes support some of the last sizeable populations of many threatened and endangered species of plants, birds and other wildlife in Australia. The impending El Nino event, and higher average temperatures in general, could increase the salinity of the lakes and further destroy this beautiful and vulnerable habitat. We need to remember this unique environment over the next few years and do everything we can to avoid the loss of these wetlands and the save the area from further hypersalinity and erosion.
166 - Hypersaline - Heath Blake
Of all the native trees in Australia, the Eucalyptus tree stands out as the most quintessentially Australian tree… symbolising all, that is to love about Australia - it is very distinctive, very diverse , hard to categorise at times, extremely adaptable to all environments, beautiful, twisted and colourful, highly flammable — the list could go on. I dare say most Australians are extremely fond of “gumtrees” as we casually call them and the smell and sight of them is comforting — for me , as a “ new Australian," I feel they symbolise a country and its people.
169 - Winter Shadow in Royal Park - Karen Standke
‘Vestige’ was inspired by a residency in Broken Hill. The region holds great personal significance – my grandparents began their life together in Wilcannia, and my mother was born and raised in the Silver City so I had frequent visits throughout my formative years to spend time with relatives. The open skies and red earth always inspired me as a child but I felt a powerful wave of poignant nostalgia wash over me during my time more recently. I attempted to capture this complex reflection on the passage of time and resulting decay in this work.
170 - Vestige - Michael Simms
This work was inspired by a residency I undertook in Broken Hill. The region holds great personal significance – my mother was born and raised in ‘the Silver City’ so I had frequent visits throughout my formative years to spend time with family. The open skies and red earth always inspired me as a child. I felt a powerful wave of both adrenaline and nostalgia wash over me during my more recent visit. Driving past Mindioomballa Creek sparked particularly vivid memories of drives out to Silverton. I attempted to capture that magic in this painting.
171 - Mindioomballa Creek - Michael Simms
174 - October Storm Diptych - Suzanne McLeod
175 - Passing Time - Suzanne McLeod
Made at a bush camp I had in the desert for several months.
176 and - Grounding - Anthony Grant
Place doesn't exist without people. Just as a person can’t exist alone. In this work, 2 people ground each other and a special place is created.
The trees in my paintings are performing like actors. Human characteristics are translated into landscapes. In this painting 'the dedicated one' tells you about 'the essence of place'. When you are still young and in your working years, you plan to thoroughly travel the world as soon as you get the chance. You have dreams about buying a house in Bali or Spain. Once you have money. Once the kids have flown out. Once you have the days to yourself again. But often, by that time, you want nothing more than to see the little ones grow up very close.
172 - The Delicate One - Patricia Van Lubeck
The Ironbark forest on the outskirts of Kangarooflat behind my mums place is being destroyed to build houses. The forest is messy and wattle has just begun to blume in the understory. The black trunks of the trees are delicious.
173 - Iron Bark Forest - Kerry Punton
Made at a bush camp I had in the desert for several months.
I have lived in rural Victoria for most of my life and have always had horses. I have experienced the joys of roaming across the hills on their backs and the sadness as I sat with them as they took their final breaths. I have despaired as they wandered the parched paddocks and rejoiced for them with lush green grasses of a promised spring. To me the awe and terror of this land is imbued in these majestic creatures. A relationship as old as time itself. Birth, death and rebirth.
