By Deb Fisher
"It’s so busy in the You Yangs! The seeming calm of the undulating You Yangs from the view from the highway or out the train window belies the extraordinary, almost frenzied activity that takes place during the parks opening hours on the weekends. This is always my initial sensation when I arrive at one the busier car parks. But the bushland seems to absorb the masses and everyone slowly dissipates.
On trying to find my own resonating angle to depict visually, I was drawn to the flora and couldn’t help but notice the huge amount of weeds, especially boneseed and bridal creeper that were taking over the native species. On researching the plants from the You Yangs region, several species are no longer found in the area, such as the silver banksia. I created small still- life compositions with some of these species. I imagined a small bouquet of hand-picked natives on the teachers table at the Duck Pond Parsonage School at the You Yangs at the turn of the last century. I was also drawn a stunning outcrop of granite rocks that are so familiar and recognisable to the area. I stripped away any other information in an attempt to focus solely on one feature, blocking out not only the surrounding flora but also the myriad of other activities that were taking place around me.
oil on board 31x31cm framed