Vignette - each sharp spike loaded well, 2020

Watercolour & graphite, 21 cm x 16.5 cm, framed in raw timber box frame with soft gold face 43.5 cm x 38.5 cm.

I love kangaroo grass.  They have beautiful tall seed spikes and heavy heads which droop with the weight of the seeds in a most elegant way.  In the early morning mist, the dew drips from these seed heads.  As well as a food source for native animals and birds, grasses also provide shelter and protection for many small insects like this little bush fly.

Grasses, especially native grasses, are under a continued threat from development. 

The title for this work comes from the poem "Dawn” by well known Australian poet, Dorothea Mackellar.