The work:Lisa Moroney, Towards the East, 2022. Oil and wax painting on panel, 80 x 80cm. Courtesy: the artist.
White clouds race across a broad, pale sky in Hobart-based artist Lisa Moroney’s Towards the East, capturing the essence of the Tasmanian hinterland. The artist’s practice aims to represent an underappreciated part of the Australian landscape, with the Midlands of Tasmania often bypassed in favour of its coastal views. Defined by its rolling paddocks and low hills, the region is extensively cultivated, split into a patchwork of grassy squares populated by well-fed sheep.
Moroney perfectly captures the peaceful atmosphere that permeates this place, her soft brush marks blurring together to simulate a midday haze. By dispensing with fine detail, we are instead treated to the true ambiance of the place, as opposed to simply recreating a particular angle or view. Taking up most of the canvas, the huge, endless sky dominates the composition, leaving the artist plenty of space to do justice to the light filtering through the various cloud layers. The overall mood of the piece is one of calmness, with time almost seeming to slow as we drift away from the frantic energy of the cities and towns. We can take our time to explore the work, matching the quiet, tranquil ambiance of Moroney’s beloved countryside.