Bushfires

Acrylic on canvas board, w/ brush and palette knife 2023 - Current

This is another series that began as a personal project but ended up teaching me that I can’t predict what is going to connect with my audience. I painted these while reflecting on the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria. I was 13 then and living with my family in the small town of Kinglake. I remember the incredible heat that day and seeing the large cloud of smoke in the distance. I remember hearing the lady next-door speaking with my parents, telling them that we needed to make a decision soon. Her ex was a firefighter in a nearby town and had called to warn her.
By the time we had driven down the mountain the sky was a dark red, raining flaming leaves on the fields below.
I was surprised when I found that these pieces resonated with my audience more than anything I had shared before, as I thought the subject matter might be too confronting and unwanted.