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My first journey to the moonah forest on Lon’s property completely captivated me and it’s from this experience that ‘Finding My Way’ sprung. The walk itself felt like a little adventure with awe and discovery around every corner. Spending time amongst the ancient trees had a visceral effect, calming and contemplative. I left feeling grounded and inspired.

Through the process of the work the trail also became a perfect little metaphor for navigating my way through life, especially after a testing few years. Discovering new versions of myself, stumbling along, feeling a little lost, growing and learning, finding myself in the weeds and working my way out.

The body of work came together using watercolour and crayon on paper and panels. Granulating pigment is a subtle but consistent baseline in the underpainting of each work. I enjoyed the grit and imperfection that brought to the surface, it reminded me of the feeling of dust and salt on my skin on the walk. I played with the softness of watercolour in conjunction with more raw, hand-drawn elements with opaque crayon to build a language of boldness, movement and curiosity.

Working from photos, sketches and memory a colourful, fluid representation of the forest emerged, dancing the line of reality and dream. I used various aspects and perspectives to evoke the ranging emotions of the experience as well as changing light and times of day. Having the moonah forest at the heart of everything felt like I was let in on a very special secret.