A year ago I was standing on this steep hillside (Big Monks in southern Canberra), watching the late afternoon sun shining through gaps in the slow-moving clouds, brightly illuminating random patches of the landscape below while leaving others in deep shadow. There was no sound other than the whisper of the mountain breeze, the lonely squeaky-hinge call of a distant king parrot, and my own breath echoing through my ears – it had been a long steep climb to reach this point.
Standing there, drinking in the view, it almost felt like I could see forever. It’s moments like these that draw me out into the wild and see me clambering up hillsides, to connect with nature and let all the stress of life slip away. It also gave rise to existential thoughts – would I rather be on this hillside, or that far distant sunlit one? If I were standing over there, what would it be like? What views, what wonders would I see that are hidden from me right now? Would I ever climb that hill? Or would I arrive there only to be wish I was back where I’d started?
It’s taken me a year to get around to painting my imagined memory of this view, this moment, and I hope I conveyed something of the emotions and thoughts it spurred in me.
“Across the valley of mist and shadow” is acrylic and acrylic ink on framed 76x61cm birch panel, and is currently on show at my solo exhibition at the WOTSO Health Space in North Strathfield. It is also available for purchase online from Nationwide Curating’s website.
