Victoria’s Mallee country has nature’s sculptures as far as the eye can see. The Mallee tree and the flat plains around the town of Red Cliff in Western Victoria were the inspiration for this artwork. There are three elements that inspired me to paint the sculptures created by mother nature.

The first element is the image I’d taken for the artwork symbolises my feeling towards black and white photography and the use of gelatin silver in photo processing. I am drawn to the way the tree branches reach out across the image and dissect the silver-grey sky. I have interpreted this element in the artwork by using an iridescent silver mixed with grey to provide a hint of silver fleck in the water-less sky. The second element is the main tree and how it is flanked by two smaller trees. I like how nature has balanced its own sculpture by pointing branches to the left and right of the central image. The third element is selecting the colour purple to feature against the grey tone and iridescent white in the painting. Purple captures the mood of this image and I feel it reflects the ancient age of the Australian outback.

This painting from my grey tone series will work well against most colour schemes in the home. The painting is unframed, but the hardboard cradle has been edged and varnished with a Tasmanian oak strip and is ready to hang.