Pine forest

Year - 2014 · Size - 51 x 76 cm · Medium - Ink on paper

Out near Deans Marsh in Victoria sits an old, somewhat run-down pine plantation. On a visit there I was stopped in my tracks by a big gang of yellow-tailed black cockatoos making a ruckus in the canopy, dismantling pine cones to get at the seeds inside — a perfect example of local nature adapting to a new and controversial crop. The painting was originally intended to feature the cockatoos, but after sitting shelved for years I realised it had become something else entirely — an ode to the quiet beauty of that pine forest.