Plein Air Paintings

Oil Paintings Made Outdoors

These paintings are plein air works, made outdoors, painting directly from nature. The freshness of the mark-making evokes the constantly changing phenomena of light, form and colour. I have to work quickly or I miss the very thing that captured my attention in the first place. It’s wonderful and challenging!

When I arrived at Camp Blackman, in the Warrumbungles in September 2022, I threw up our tent and van and rushed across the open meadow to paint the iconic view across to the tors that make up the Breadknife. I was excited by the majesty and uniqueness of the rock formations and wanted to capture the late afternoon light and shadows as they fell across the ridges.

I spent the next couple of days exploring and seeking out views of dramatic peaks, valleys and ranges, and the three Warrunmbungle Dreaming paintings are from this part of my process. I revelled in the immediacy of painting plein air - the challenge of capturing the shifting light and colour quickly and with energy and mood. However, I began to feel frustrated by looking for vantage points from which to paint and rather wanted to be able to move through the landscape without an aim and with an open curiosity and attention to my surroundings. I began rising very early and walking for hours, listening and looking, taking photos, journaling, sketching and just being present to the experience of being there. As I did this I felt joy and contentment, watching birds flit and call, noticing the texture of bark, and the colour of rock and lichen. As I experienced the shimmering of light and the movement of the air and shadows, I was filled with what poet, Mary Oliver, calls 'earth-praise'.

As I shifted gear in this way, I began to feel more interested in painting less ‘remarkable’ views, places that no one would necessarily recognise, yet that still evoked the beauty and wonder of the Warrumbungles. I then made the paintings Into & Beyond IV, Evensong, VII, VIII and IX.

One of my profound joys is to walk each day in the bushland near my home in the Blue Mountains. Whatever the weather, the time of day or season, I experience solace in nature. As I contemplate, observe and absorb with all my senses, I am energised to create.

It can however, feel overwhelming to know where to start a drawing or a painting in the landscape… If you would love to learn how, I would love to teach you what has worked for me, and warn you of the pitfalls I’ve encountered too.