Oil on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

In July of 2018, during a particularly cold Western Australian winter, the North West of England was experiencing a long and painfully dry summer. The fields, usually green and rain soaked are dry and yellowing. The skies have become thick with the rolling smoke from the moorland fires. The scene depicts a team of firefighters battling to beat the fire down; some are disappearing into the haze. As the fire advances towards them , the colours strip away from their bodies, seemingly broken apart by the waves of heat.

The scene is more typically associated with an Australian bushfire and as such presents a strange dichotomy, summed up by the name of the location, Winter Hill.

It took 41 days to control the fire and involved 15 fire crews from across the Lancashire area. The photo that the painting is based on was taken by Watch Manager David Curran of Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service.