This work is part of Melissa Boughey’s 2024 exhibition, Habitat.

Says Melissa of this work: “Early morning engagement with the landscape, finding my zen, ocean swimming. The journey from the wetlands, river, inlet to sea.

“Over many years, I have built a responsive, intuitive language about landscape and my response to it. Sketches and ideas are gathered from living a seasonal rural life, plus the occasional road trip or balmy holiday. The vista from the studio, walking the dog down the tree-lined drive, the reflections of paperbarks in the wetlands, ocean swimming, catching the early morning light – therein lies a rich tapestry of all the things that inspire and hold my attention.

“I want to leave space for the viewer to interpret the work to find their own meaning. To sit with it, feel something, and hopefully consider the natural world and its place within it. Natural Habitat also refers to a mindfulness space, the creative zone when I am sketching plein air, soaking paper in the creek to ready it for pigment, or fully immersed in the dance of paint across the canvas in my studio. When the world feels too much, this is what I lean into, my natural habitat.”