Most days Charlie, my dog, wakes  early and encourages me to get up and go for a walk. Our current favourite walk is on a track along the shore line between Lyttelton and Cass Bay. The track in places has the feel of a bush walk, though purists would question some of the planting. The trees tower over and surround you with their protective covering. If we are early enough we get the bird chorus coming down through them. It’s a good start to the day.

These painting are a tribute to my world and the environment that has enriched my life. I want to acknowledge the beauty of plants and trees and their foliage that surrounds us, but also in celebrating it to also question if it will last. The extreme impact of rising temperatures will change the world as we know it and our flora and fauna will change. Not everything will survive.

In 1978 I went to the David Bowie concert at QEII park which was part of his Hero’s tour.

He played ‘Is there life on Mars ?’ at this concert. To many this was an anthem of escapism.  The mystery of Mars and the universe provided a sense of hope for a different future. It always fascinated me that Living on Mars could be a conceived as an option  to solving problems one faced with everyday living on earth.

There are options facing the world and no universal consensus for what to do or how to solve these problems. Perhaps even today it is important to be able to dream that there might be another option to survival like life on Mars, or will we really become “the freakiest show”.

January 2025