A Portrait of a Landscape

In Henry James’ novel “The Portrait of a Lady”, the main character, Isabel, is from North America. With New World, 19th Century eyes, she looks upon the mysterious and complex Old World landscape of Europe. I thought back to this book when considering how I observe the landscape here. Six years of looking, with fresh eyes, at the worn and gentle country of the Central West of NSW has revealed the subtleties of a scenery that could provide a lifetime of inspiration. Hinting at multitudes of generations, this landscape seems “peopled” by venerable old trees, perhaps spirits of people past. The stock route that runs along the edge of the farm continues to be a compliant muse, and the anthropomorphic trees visible from it have become the subjects for these portraits.