Cork oak in April

31cmx41cm acrylic on birch panel 2022 Private collection

Friends of mine at Woodbridge in southern Tasmania planted a cork oak in their little front paddock back in the 1980s. It has developed into a beautiful tree with pendulous branches and crazy looking bark which is … cork!

In mid-autumn when the sun is moving lower in the northern sky, the angle and quality of light here is similar to light in the part of Canada where I spent my childhood. Long and vivid afternoon shadows slash across sloping paddocks, and spent grasses and other foliage take on the softest hues.

The window of the house, which you can see just to the left of the cork oak, looks lit up. We’re actually looking through the window at a wardrobe mirror reflecting light from outside. Theoretically, if we could look closely enough, we would see a reflection of the hillside opposite on which I am making a painting.