Oil on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed on the front.

This artwork comes with an external frame

My interest in places with a past human history leads me to old homestead sites where the remains of the past times are evidenced in the the "junk" and artefacts that are to be found half buried and forgotten. The beautiful Newnes Valley west of Sydney, is one such place, and always surprises me.

While this work is one with many layers of historical reference, it is a calm and undemanding work. The viewer can choose whatever meaning he/she wants to hold and contemplate.

I was quite mesmerised by the application of the oil paint while painting the trees and mountain and misty atmosphere. The paint of the still life object was thickly applied and painted over a thick layer to deliberately cause the top surface to show cracking and replicate the crazing that typically shows on old crockery and ceramics.
Normally with oil paint, the thick layer is the last to be applied. ("Thick over thin"). Breaking "rules" is exciting and often rewarding.