5 RIVERS An abstract desert of sienna and red ochre holds five fading blue waterholes. 5 RIVERS explores heat, scarcity and the rugged Australian outback through rich texture and contemporary colour contrast.

5 RIVERS reimagines the Australian desert as a vast, ochre‑rich expanse punctuated by five small, precious pools of water. Through layered blends of sienna, red ochre and textured surface work, the painting evokes the rugged, shifting terrain of the outback—its heat, its scarcity and its quiet resilience. The roughened texture amplifies the sense of a landscape shaped by time and harsh conditions, where water becomes both symbol and lifeline.

Against this warm, arid field, five blue forms appear like isolated rivers or shrinking waterholes, their edges drying and receding under the relentless desert sun. Their placement across the canvas creates a rhythmic tension between abundance and absence, offering a contemporary meditation on survival within an unforgiving environment.

Synthetic polymer on canvas 50cm H × 60cm W × 3.8cm D (unframed)