Inspiration - Peter McQueeney

AUSTRALIA is a country with an enormous variety of landscape, from tropical islands and coral reefs to some of the world's largest deserts. But despite the great natural riches of the land, due to the small population it is almost impossible for painters and artists to make a living.

Peter McQueeney is one of the few artists in Australia who has managed to make a success from painting the unique Australian landscape. His works have been commissioned for private and commercial collections in Australia, Europe, the United States and S.E. Asia. His work is available from selected Galleries, Art Consultants or by contacting him direct via email on info@petermcqueeney.com.au .

Peter is best known for his paintings of the Australian outback, with its sweeping deserts and striking colors. His work in recent years has tended to focus on distant views painted as if from a high perspective. ''What I like is the big expanse, and the big sky,'' he says. '' Wherever you look in Australia the views are expansive. It is not contained. A sand dune in the desert or a coastal beach , have the same characteristics, big views, big colors, big horizons and big sky, with a strong feeling of mood."

''My aim with my work is to capture the mood of the Australian landscape – it's coastline, interior, and the vastness of the island continent The subtlety of color and texture in a seemingly barren places hold's a fascination for me. I am particularly drawn to the light and mood's of this timeless land. Changes of light and weather conditions offer challenging exploration in atmosphere, color and textual interpretation. Variations in terrain and vegetation can be expressed through abstraction and design to bring out diverse and unique characteristics, which I hope will inspire introspection and inspiration in the viewers and will evoke pleasurable memories of the spirit of the land and the moment in time."

''My art comes from the visual stimulus of the Australian landscape, its diversity, moods and light and my response and relationship with it. I want the viewer to come to know and love the Australian landscape just as I do.''

Peter's journey began in the island state of Tasmania, renowned for its scenic beauty, mountains and isolation. He started work at the age 15, and trained in the Display studios of the capital Hobart's , then premier department store G.P. Fitzgerald's. It was here that his creativity and flair for visual merchandising was discovered and rapid promotion took place. It was while living in Kathmandu Nepal during the 1980s that Peter decided to take up painting full time.

''Painting is my hobby, my life, my work and my passion,'' he says. ''I like the solitude of the landscape, the sense of isolation and serenity of the Australian landscape. I painted as a child and have always painted. I like the sense of theater, light coming through a window, the shadows and textures of leaves, the sense of time passing. The Australian countryside has a mystery, a magical allure and a rugged beauty you cannot find anywhere else in the world. The interplay and juxtaposition of colors is all important in portraying the land, the musty green of desert pines against the rusty red earth of the outback, the startling blue of the rare waterhole and the striking of waterbirds against the sweeping desert dunes.''

One of Peter Mcqueeney favorite pieces of writing is the following extract by E.H. Burgman's book The Education of an Australian:

''Man may only join in on nature's own terms. He can sit and listen and let his fancy run free... It is foolish for man to think of nature as below him. If he lives in the bush long enough he will find that the reverse is the only worthwhile attitude. But the bush will take its own time to do the work. It will not speak to man in a hurry. Its message is worth waiting for. Only the soul that is still in its presence can hear the music of its songs.''