In 2026 I will be part of a joint exhibition at Surat on Balonne Art Gallery. The other artists in the show, Kathy Ellem and Catherine Clark Dowden, both have a lot more brush miles than me. Sharing an exhibition with them feels like a privilege. I felt I wanted to put a bit of effort in and do a painting just for this show.
Last year I went to a workshop Kathy taught and it was the first time I had been to Surat. I remember going for a walk along the river and seeing this incredible, huge, tangled tree and thinking wow – I would love to paint that!
So a couple of weeks ago I took a quick trip to Surat. Walking along the river there it was again this tree with the backdrop of the weir and I still wanted to paint it.
I sat there all day in the sun and no one bothered me. It was hot and sweaty and hard and amazing. Two pelicans flew in at 3 o clock and were very curious about what I was on their patch for. I put them in the painting!
