Storm clouds (No. 2)

Storm clouds (No. 2)
2014
Coloured pencil on paper
56 x 76 cm

Storm clouds (No. 3)

Storm clouds (No. 3)
2014
Coloured pencil on paper
56 x 76 cm

Storm clouds (No. 4)

Storm clouds (No. 4)
2014
Coloured pencil on paper
56 x 76 cm

Four days

I spent four days with my father as he died. Drawing him was an act of love and companionship. Poignant, deeply felt drawings made during his last days.

There are five drawings. The one I made on the night he died may be viewed at Dad – the last night.

My father died early in the morning

My father died early in the morning of Tuesday 2 September 2014. After his funeral I spent the next four months sitting on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the Grose Valley in the Blue Mountains National Park drawing the valley for 3 to 8 hours a day. The result is the work Above Only Sky, a twelve panel work, which may be viewed under Art works, and three other drawings of the valley. All the drawings were done sitting in the bush on the edge of the cliff. No photographs, no work in the studio.

The valley is a special place, personally through the connection my father had with it, and more generally, in the history of the conservation movement in Australia and for the Indigenous people.

I’ve also uploaded Main Range, Kosciuszko National Park, a 5 panel work done from March to June 2014 of the Main Range of Kosciuszko National Park drawn from a spot in the bush a few minutes from the road head above Charlotte Pass where the walk to Mt Kosciuszko begins. These drawings were also done directly from and in the landscape.  Main Range, Kosciuszko National Park may be viewed under Art works.

Drawing directly from the landscape gives a quality of presence to the work and a sense of the place unobtainable when drawing from photographs. Ihope you feel this in the work, even when viewed on a screen.

Colo River dusk

Colo River dusk
2006
Coloured pencil on paper
23 x 63 cm

Colo River morning

Colo River morning
2006
Coloured pencil on paper
30 x 23 cm

Colo River late evening

Colo River late evening
2006
Coloured pencil on paper
23 x 63 cm

Late September morning over the Grose Valley

Late September morning over the Grose Valley
Blue Mountains National Park
2014
Coloured pencil on paper
56 x 76 cm

October storm clearing over the Grose Valley

October storm clearing over the Grose Valley
Blue Mountains National Park
2014
Coloured pencil on paper
56 x 76 cm