C Emma Short

APPROACHING STORM
$1,100

Even after nearly thirty years in the Territory, I never tire of the Wet, with its brilliant colours and tropical storms. Out for a day’s sketching dirt roads and gum trees, red earth and vibrant shadows – I saw a storm approach with its forbidding indigo sky contrasting with the sunlight.

I used pastels for this painting, as I was able to build up the layers, and I hope capture the intensity of the colours, and convey some of the sense of a stifling, hot wet season afternoon.

Pastel on gessoed paper
100 x 80cm

Artist Statement: I have drawn and painted as far back as I can remember, and coloured pencils, paints and paper were always welcome presents while growing up. While studying for a degree in Botany and then subsequently working at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in London, I became interested in botanical art, attending some courses over the years.
However, it wasn’t until 1998 after arriving in the Territory and I went to courses at Simply Crafts, Tactile Arts and CSC Evening Classes that I discovered the delights of pastels and oils. I head out into the bush to sketch and paint regularly, often taking reference photographs, and this painting is the result of one such trip along the Cox Peninsula road.
I was brought up on a windy hilltop in the north of England, with wonderful views and the subtle colours of the hills and fields of lower Teesdale. Living in the NT, tho’, gives me the chance to use all the bright colours in the box – very exciting. The Territory is inspirational.