Big Garden, Split Views Hillston

This painting aims to evoke what might be described as a visual ‘walk through’—an unfolding experience in which selected views are captured to convey the atmosphere and essence of a particular garden. Across the nine distinct yet interconnected panels, complex compositions come together to represent the garden’s unique character, offering an emotional and intuitive response to the feelings the space evokes. The work explores how, as we move through a garden, certain features—carefully planted, shaped, and tended—naturally draw our attention. The composition reflects this process of discovery, where focal points emerge gradually and meaningfully. The interplay of shadow and light is used to suggest the passage of time, while the tones of foliage and the presence of flowers connect the viewer to seasonal change. Together, these elements build a layered portrait of the garden as both a physical and emotional landscape.

This painting is from the exhibition and publication, Gardens: Fragments of Life and Loss – an artistic enquiry that systematically explores themes of memory, impermanence, and transformation through the motif of the garden. Drawing upon visual language and observational practices, the body of work investigates how natural environments serve as metaphors for human experience, particularly in relation to loss and regeneration. The paintings communicate knowledge by documenting and interpreting the cyclical processes of change and adaptation in nature, offering insights into how landscapes reflect emotional and cultural memory. This body of work contributes to interdisciplinary dialogues between art, ecology, and the human condition through a methodical engagement with site, material, and temporality.