There are countless books, papers and articles on this subject. I propose to add a small selection of notes and on-going queries on this page as a guide to my thoughts on the Australian Landscape book I propose.

Landscape painting today occupies an uneasy place in Australian art. The current old-school generation of traditional landscape painters is coming to an end, but strangely there seems to be a powerful movement towards a faithful continuation. One strand of this project hopes to interview some of the older landscape artists about the history and development of their art practices, including their distinctive techniques. I have taken workshops with many of those I hope to interview, including their early training with other classic landscape artists, many now passed on. I and am not sure how far they would be willing to go with the revelation of their mysteries.

Another strand will seek to connect early “impressionistic” Australian art with the present day landscape abstractionists.  Watch this site for updates on this project. A book is already in outline although I am struggling with the question of how to write a book on this topic without including the paintings themselves. Copyright which makes it almost impossible to reproduce them. On the other hand, many works are already available on-line, so maybe links will have to do.

My little plein-air sketch below reflects the semi-realist techniques used in much contemporary Australian landscape work, in this case inspired by my teacher Sandra Blackburne, 23/10/23.