Red centre and charred wood

Experiments here with acrylic paint transfer, white acrylic paint, brown Sheaffer Skrip ink applied with a brush, black Quink and a cola pen, and then small marks in bleach.

I'm playing with the colours and barrenness of the Red Centre of Australia and the sudden contrast of an isolated settlement. We saw much vegetation ravaged by fire, with small trees and scrub against the extraordinary red earth and the distant blue hills.

The isolation of the thousands of miles of hot, barren scrub which separated those tiny settlements has stayed with me down the months. It is extraordinary how some newly-seen landscapes can haunt the memory with intensity and provoke such a lasting response in the imagination.