In Wattles #4, I return to the radiant presence of the Australian wattle — a motif that threads through my practice as both symbol and sensation. Against the subdued hues of bush and sky, the wattle’s golden bloom becomes a moment of illumination: a small, vivid declaration of renewal within the quieter tones of the landscape.
 
The medium — oil and wax on board — allows me to explore that meeting of light and structure. Layers of translucent wax hold the pigment in suspension, catching the shimmer of pollen-yellow and the deep shadow beneath. The brushwork shifts between gesture and restraint, echoing the wattle’s dual nature: soft and delicate, yet fiercely resilient.
 
This painting reflects my ongoing fascination with the overlooked — the small, unassuming corners of scrubland and reserve that hold immense quiet beauty. Wattles #4 is not a literal study, but an evocation: the way morning light glances off clustered blooms; the flicker of brightness at the edge of vision; the pulse of gold amid greys and greens.
 
In this work, I’m interested in how something so familiar — so distinctly of this place — can feel almost transcendent when seen anew. The wattle becomes both subject and metaphor: a reminder of resilience, of brief seasonal brilliance, of the cycle of return.
 
My hope is that Wattles #4 invites the viewer into a slower way of seeing — one that lingers in the in-between spaces, where light touches leaf, where colour hums quietly beneath the surface, and where beauty, once found, feels like recognition.
 
62cm x 50cm Oil and wax on card