In this exhibition I am presenting landscapes in oils, and works on paper - watercolours and mixed media. Moving from sub-tropical Sydney to the Southern Tablelands with its changing seasons has represented a major shift in the visual perception of my environment.

I now work in a bush studio in the gorgeous Jerrabatgulla valley in Krawaree. I am immersed in a unique landscape - eucalyptus and banksia forests, pink granite boulders with silver-green lichen often split by the frost, and the beautiful Jerrabatgulla Creek with its pools, water falls and mossy surrounds.

The serenity of the grazing paddocks offers a stark contrast and balance to the intensity of the bush. The spectacular autumnal show of the flaming poplars lends vibrancy to the landscape announcing the end of the warm cycle and reminds us that winter with its gentle light is imminent.

I look forward to these new cycles, particularly the end of winter, when the gums initiate the shedding of their thick, brittle and dry winter coats exposing the new colourful bark.

I particularly love the trees after the rain when the tree trunks come alive in a show of colour – Black Sallee with its greens and mauves and scribbly gums with their mauvy blues and orange hues. The tree portraits are an attempt to capture a moment in the cycle of life of these magnificent trees – note the bleeding of the resin.

The large watercolour represents the wild country around the Tuross Falls where the escarpment and the forest combine to provide a backdrop for the cascading waters.

At the end of my first decade in the Australian countryside, I have learnt to love my new surroundings and I feel FROM THE OUTSIDE IN.  I began in tropical Latin America where colour dances in the streets. Then moving to Sydney with its beautiful water surrounds I interpreted my new environment with my love of colour and nature. Now in the Australian countryside I feel I have captured the feelings and moods of my new environment.

Amalia Alegria-Wolfe 2009