Acrylic on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

This artwork comes with an external frame

In this artwork, “Reflecting over a Bushells”, I wanted to acknowledge 60 years of tea and coffee brewing by the employees in this factory. This iconic Australian brand was founded by Alfred Bushells in 1883 and his family traded commercially in Sydney from 1899.

I painted the factory at dusk as a way for us to reflect upon the large changes in economic fortune for the manufacturing industry in Australia. And perhaps this is what every good cup should be about – a good cuppa to reflect upon and share your life changes with family and friends.

I was surprised to learn that the chimney stack was not an original feature of the building when it was completed in 1958. Rather the factory was built in two stages, the chimney stack being added in the 1970s. It is hard to imagine this building without this splendid slender black steel chimney.

I have been fascinated by the reflection of this building on the Parramatta river at different times of the day. The steel black chimney is so slender with its graceful wind bands (helical strakes) evident at the top of the stack. The black outline blends beautifully with the reflection of the masts from the sailing boats on Cabarita Bay. Then there is the coffee bean and tea leaf inside the distinctive letter B at the side of the building. And once again I have been fascinated by the different ways the silver metal B can be reflected and distorted in the water underneath.

Best of all I admire how the Bushells factory has blended itself into the residential environment of an encroaching suburbia. Comparing the building photos of the 1960s to those taken by me recently, I can see there has been a softening of the industrial landscape. I love how the reflection of the black chimney stack alongside the sailing boats masts echo back to a time when tea leaves and coffee beans were shipped by wind and sail around the world.

At the time of completing this painting this factory is still brewing coffee and tea for us all to enjoy. And you may have noticed the steam rising from one of the exhaust outlets below the Letter B. However, the building is nearing the end of its manufacturing life and plans are well progressed to retain the building for residential use so it can continue to serve the community.