Already a beloved, if not regular subject in my paintings, the You Yangs are a familiar hunkering presence on the skyline for dwellers and visitors in our region. So familiar perhaps, that we lose the significance and wonder surrounding these ancient granite hills. I drive past them every day, shimmering there in the distance, so for this work I wanted to approach the subject from two opposite and less typical physical vantage points – my aim was to encourage a different view and in the process, kind of wake up and experience the You Yangs afresh drawn from two very different experiences of the place.

The first view was right in the heart of the hills themselves atop Big Rock following a visit we did as a group with the Geelong Gallery last year. We had just experienced a welcome to country ceremony that left us feeling dwarfed by big time and awash with the spirit of place - with goose bumps and no suitable words.

The second from my vantage point as crew on ‘Spirit of Rani’ during the Festival of Sails Regatta. From deep in Corio bay the You Yangs snake and stretch and appear to go on forever. Perspective flattens and distance is deceptive. On that day they were hazy and blue and almost ghostlike from my spot on the foredeck. Two spots, two moments in an infinite timeline.