Understory Series

This series of paintings aims to remind us that there is an immense history underlying the surface of a landscape.  The layers in the rocks, and their folds and faults, recording millions of years of movement, are shown as lines.  The reality is more complex and detailed than can be shown in a painting, but there are elements of truth in each scene! 

Understory 2: Hutt Valley, eastern hills

Oil on canvas. 152 x 50.5 cm. view of the eastern hills of the Hutt Valley.

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Understory 3: Hutt Valley, western hills

Oil on canvas. 152 x 50.5 cm. View of the western hills of the Hutt Valley.

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Understory 4: Hutt Valley, looking north

Oil on canvas. 46 x 91 cm. Hutt Valley, looking north, with cross-sectional schematic.

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Understory 5: Somes Island

​Oil on canvas. 40.5 x 50.5 cm. View from western side of the harbour, with the lowest two panels being Somes Island with it's brownish cliffs and the top two panels being the hills behind (Remutaka Range).  I wanted to convey the strength/musculature of the hills, with a hint of the skeletal geology showing in the foreground cliffs and influencing the topography. 2019.

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