Not quite what I had in mind

This is a real statement piece for your home, full of fascinating details and unexpected colour combinations – just like the Australian bushland itself. A hint of gold paint gives this a luxe feel, but not so much as to be ostentatious – just a warm glow to draw you into this world.

Inspired by the landscape surrounding my former home in Australia – acres of bushland – dry and yet abundant with life. We lived with the constant sounds of nature – birds, cicadas, rustling gum leaves and wallabies crashing through the bush. A small river coursed through the gorge but the birds and other creatures still took the time to delight us by visiting the small rockpool we created below our deck.

The title of this painting is quite literal in its meaning – I had a completely different direction in mind when I started this painting. But I found, as I often do, that as I painted and changed, the work refused to bend to my will. It had something else in mind, and all I could do was respond to that and get us to a point where we, both the painting and I, agreed.