Oil pastel wildflower artworks from my River of Sand 2022 Exhibition.
The pastel works are imagined, curated collections of some of the 600+ native species of wildflowers I experienced along the Larapinta Trail.
Details of the exhibition below..
May 2022, I embarked on what I could only describe as an ‘otherworldly’ experience. Time spent hiking, rambling and traipsing through the Larapinta trail of Tjoritja, Arrernte country.
It’s difficult to describe the landscape I encountered - instantly inspired by the colours surrounding me - the unrepressed, rich, red dirt; the voluminous and often vibrant blue skies; the drama within those grandiose, lofty ranges; the stark white ghost gums and the softest of soft lilac of the mulla mulla. There is a glow in the land that’s like no other…
As a Peregrine Falcon flew over head, I couldn’t help but ponder how supremely lucky I was to walk under this intense sun. The same intense sun beaming down on the quartzite metamorphic rocks that house thousands of years of history and indigenous culture. Learning, listening to the landscape. The most precious gift.
“River of Sand” is a collection of my meditations, of my love, respect and appreciation of the the Arrernte country I traversed and painted on.
Oil painting and watercolour works seek to exemplify the beauty of this wild, ancient and vast land the First Nation’s people call home.
“She captured the spirit, danced with it, painted it, and then let it ripple out to everyone” Tina Bruce