The road between Cowra and Canowindra, in the Central West of New South Wales, winds through gentle hills that overlook sweeping plains to the west. In the late afternoon, the sun filters through the haze, and the eucalypts that crown these hills seem to shimmer—leaves catching the light like fragments of glass. There is a sense of stillness here, a dreamlike quiet that feels untouched by time.
The Magic Hill Series emerged from an earlier body of work that explored the confluence of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic artistic traditions with the tones and textures of the Australian landscape. Over time, this evolved into a unique visual language: intricate lines and patterns became jewel-like medallions representing the foliage of native trees, particularly the eucalyptus. These forms also nod to the aesthetics of Australian Indigenous art, where repetition and rhythm convey both movement and meaning.
The work featured here depicts this same landscape transformed by night. Bathed in the silvery glow of moonlight, the scene becomes more enigmatic, yet no less alive. Kangaroos move quietly through the cool night air, undisturbed and instinctive, their presence adding an element of quiet vitality to the stillness.
As with the broader series, the painting reflects the influence of Gustav Klimt in its gem-like detail and use of metallic pigments, echoing the mosaics of Byzantium. In this nocturnal vision, landscape becomes memory, ornament, and myth—held together by a reverence for light, pattern, and the gentle rhythms of the natural world.