Nostalgic Horizons 2020

On 15 March 2020 I held my first solo exhibition in the historical Fairholme Homestead atop the Great Dividing Range.  I was 2 weeks out from flying to Europe for a 2 month trip to explore locations I had been painting for the past 2 months. I had been inspired by vintage postcards of historical seascapes, my boatmen heritage and artists like Caspar David Friedrich, William Turner and John Constable.

Little did I know on that balmy Sunday afternoon as I exhibited work reflecting nostalgically on a previous bygone era that the world was undergoing a paradigm shift (paralleling that which occurred 200 years ago) that would forever change life as I had known it.

With that shift my art studio closed, residency opportunities dried up and exhibitions were cancelled.  Like many others my travel plans became a distant memory and my casual shifts managing shows at the local theater were no longer 'essential'. 

I suddenly found myself reflected in the shipwrecked figures I had painted. Called upon to carry on, look to brighter horizons and weather the storm of transition. 

Charting course on the way, the truth and the life I remain grateful for the journey and many lessons hard learned over the past 18 months.