Landscapes were something that I had almost written off as too difficult, but living on a farm in the incredibly beautiful region of North East Victoria and embracing the power of regenerative agriculture on the landscape is important to me. So much so that I persisted. After all these years I’m still fascinated with the many moods and ‘personalities’ of gum trees. I love that the older and gnarlier they are the more interesting and beautiful a painting they can inspire, which is almost the opposite to humans and our pursuit of youth and beauty. I see the Australian landscape as rugged and beautifully harsh, and find that texture is the best way to convey this sense, there is nothing smooth about our country. I encourage viewers to get up close and look at each brush stroke and feel how many colours have been combined to create this seemingly simple view.