Growing up in rural Australia I woke up to the laugh of the Kookaburra more often then not. It is a noise that will make me pause if I hear it going about my day. It brings on that much desired feeling of nostalgia. The imagery itself is also homely to me. My grandparents had a ramp at the entrance to there home, in the cement was a kookaburra stepping stone, not to mention all the other Australiana themed décor in their home. Going to their house was always filled with moments of Hiraeth, pictures of people past and memories of the family being together often made my heart ache with longing for a reality I knew could never be true again. So I hope the Kookaburra brings some comfort to the home of its new owner.

This Piece was commissioned to me by a local lady who had seen one of my paintings from when I was in high school.

She had really liked the painting and asked if I could recreate it. I did just that, however, it was only when I looked at this finished painting and the painting I had done years before that I realised I had actually improved a great deal.

In my mind I hadn’t really done anything drastic other than practice my skills, therefore I thought that I had not changed in my style that greatly but putting the two side by side brought me the courage I needed to not give up.

The painting is titled Kookaburra S.I.A.O.G.T (sitting in an old gum tree). Below is an image of my first Kookaburra beside the more recent one.