Watercolour, soft pastels & pencil on paper.
37.5cmW x 25.5 cmH (Frame 50.7 cmW x 38.7 cmH)
While I was in recovery following my breakdown in 2015, I spent a lot of time bush walking through the Blue Mountains. I took reference photos, did plein air watercolours and thought about the ways I felt about the Australian bush.
I had never felt a deep affinity with the bush. I’m more of a roses and wildflowers person. However, the more time I spent in the bush the more I started to see. The Australian bush is sparse and dominated by shades of brown and rough edges but if you look closer, there is a deep array of colour. Moss greens, ochre yellows, soft pinks and sunset oranges. I started toying with the idea of bare branches for wings during that time. They would not get you far but here in the bush they would fit right in.
While ‘Grounded’ has the poetic feel of a winged being who will never fly, in the context of Australia she finds her place. Her body is filled with the cosmos and dreams while her wings keep her here in this land.
I often feel trapped and stifled and want nothing more than to be on a plane flying away. I have come to realize that feeling is not about where I am physically but where I am mentally. What I am looking for is a temporary break from the pressure of every day life but that same pressure is what fuels and inspires my creativity. This place where I stand is simultaneously my inspiration and my captor.
If you are interested in giving “Grounded” a space in your world, please contact Platform Gallery directly.
Accept/Resist 11th-28th October
Platform Gallery
194 Katoomba St, Katoomba, NSW 2780
Ph: 02 4742 0047
E: hello@platformgallery.co
W: www.platformgallery.co