Thursday Thoughts...

"I called it ‘Scrub Country’ because to me it has the randomness and relaxed air and the quality of colour which I think is much more typical of the Australia I know than any of those ochres and oranges so often used. I have let air through because we see a lot of filtered light, random pattern and carelessness in the Australian landscape".

Rosalie Gascoigne

I love looking back at Rosalie Gascoigne's work and a short search of her name on the blog shows some of her wonderful and inspiring pieces - they often appear in Thursday Thoughts, and also following seeing her work in exhibitions.

The part where she talks about letting air through absolutely resonates with me - our eucalyptus leaves often leave air between them, little gaps, slivers of light dancing through, random shadows at play. And I just love how she describes the carelessness in the Australian landscape!

Pondering her choice of words, I can see what she means. The Australian bush and landscape often look haphazard, a bit random and lacking in order. But it is ours, just as it is and it is beautiful.

Her colours here also take me straight back to the bush - with the blue sky, the grey and green of subdued foliage, sparks of bright sunshine. 

I think one of her great strengths was spending time with the words that connected her to her work. Her titles were often so apt; concise, but demonstrating a depth of understanding.  And then her explanations cover so much descriptive ground.

And then the Mallee Scrub, which is a long way from where she lived and worked, but this is scrubby country as we know it.

All quite different yet kind of the same as the Highlands...

Armadale Bay.