This is an expressionist work describing my feelings about the Australian landscape. I grew up in the bush. For me country has strong maternal qualities. It is open, consistent, patient and accepting. It gave me a very nourishing and sound foundation as a child.
I still love being outside. For me it is very grounding. I do a lot of bush walking, camping and trekking. My art making practice usually begins with sketching en plein air. I then move to my studio and start reworking the sketches in oil paint. I work from my sketches, photos and my visual memories and feelings. I let the process of painting take me back into the landscape.
This work is a collection of places I have been; places where I have sat and sketched; places that stay in my visual memory; moments that hold my visual attention.
These are places I love to remember in this soft country.
Catherine Hickson