Australian landscape for sleep

 Terror acrylic and oil pastel on paper 72 x 40cm (2012)

The painting above marks the final work in what has been a study this year into the Australian landscape following the Alice Springs excursion in July 2011. All former works in this series can be viewed several posts ago. I've been confident with this medium combination of oil pastel drawn across a typically hot acrylic ground for the last six years; often it provides success in a sparing amount, contained in more or less the quantity of a sketch. The expectation with these works is usually that the reddish-golden background should be demonstrative of the Australian sun and subsequent reflection in the landscape. In the case of 'Terror' l also sense it provides a menacing quality and hopefully resonates with the infamous stories and fears of the murders and abductions synonymous with the Australian red center. I don't think l would (haven't previously) been interested in using this formula to capture the landscape and light conditions of environments elsewhere (Europe recently)

A new drawing series is now developing with a focus on sleep.
Enjoy the images to come.     

Jim S