Artist Statement
In the spring of 2022 I was standing on this steep hillside (Big Monks in southern Canberra), watching the late afternoon sun shining through gaps in the slow-moving clouds, brightly illuminating random patches of the landscape below while leaving others in deep shadow. There was no sound other than the whisper of the mountain breeze, the lonely squeaky-hinge call of a distant king parrot, and my own breath echoing through my ears – it had been a long climb to reach this point.
Winter was falling by the time I started to paint my memory of the scene, so instead of painting what I remembered I felt more inclined to paint it with the imagined cold blue shadows and cold mists of the season.
About the Artist
Andy is a self-taught modern impressionist artist based in Canberra, Australia. Most of his works are landscapes inspired by the hills and wild places surrounding the city and the local region, though occasionally he paints scenes from memories or imagination.
He paints to intuitively express thoughts and emotions through his works, so his landscapes are notable for dramatic skies and intense use of colour. They often convey a conservationist theme, illustrating the damage done to nature yet seeking beauty and hope in what remains.
Andy also looks to explore light in all its nuances; his paintings are typically filled with brilliant ambient light and deep rich shadows. The scenes he creates are what he imagines them to be – landscapes as viewed through the prism of his soul.
His works are created with acrylic paints and inks, as his paintings are built up quickly through countless layers which necessitates a fast drying time, and acrylics allow the freedom to apply washes and tinted glazes over thicker impasto paint.
This exhibition, The Colours I Feel, is mostly inspired by Andy’s ventures into the wilds of Canberra during the autumn and winter of 2022 and 2023. He wanted to paint, not the scenes that the city is famous for, but rather the out of the way places where he found peace and inspiration.