Cool Before Blaze...the Story in the Brushstrokes
‘Cool Before the Blaze’ was painted while hiding from the heat on a scorcher of a Perth summer day, this piece was my way of holding onto brightness—without adding to the blaze. Early that morning, before the sun had forced us indoors, we’d walked through Kings Park. The banksias were in bloom—bold, sculptural, and so elegant. The early light caught their forms in a way that felt unexpectedly cooling, grounded in the blue-green shade under the trees.
I wanted to bottle up that feeling—the cool before the heat blaze. The contrast of coolness and heat, stillness and wildness. I leaned into cooler tones—vivid aquas, cobalt blues, turquoise—as a way to breathe some freshness into a day that felt like a furnace. The warm reds and yellows still made their way in, echoing the banksias' natural fire, but they’re softened, held within layers of calm.
This painting is a quiet memory of balance—of movement and rest, intensity and ease. A reminder that even in the full force of life’s heat, there’s always a cooler place we can return to.
This original artwork is hand-painted on paper to fit a standard A4 frame. It comes with a printed copy its Story in the Brushstrokes and includes tracked delivery within Australia for peace of mind.
