first light, last light
“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
(Mary Oliver)
First Light, Last Light is the culmination of a year’s worth of paying attention. Each season at Lon has brought with it something to be admired—hazy skies, crisp mornings, brilliant moonrises, dunes bursting with colour—and this collection is an ode to noticing the details and being fully present in nature.
As always, I am particularly inspired at the edges of the day; the soft, transient light of morning and evening, when the landscape seems to take on an ephemeral quality and the world feels quiet.
Throughout the year at Lon I found myself returning again and again to the wild beauty of Back Beach and to the winding paths through the dunes which lead you there, each experience made unique through the shifting light and changing seasons…
…the stillness of the Winter Solstice morning and the long stretch of coastline seemingly all to myself. A supermoon in late Autumn, moonlight dancing hypnotically on the ocean. Sprawling beach tracks dappled with light in Spring, tea trees and sweet pea shrubs in full bloom. Sun-drenched evenings in Summer, the golden sun slipping quietly below the horizon…
A year spent simply paying attention to the light on the landscape, watching in wonder as it transformed before my eyes.
Each painting in this collection draws upon this sense of wonder; inviting viewers to pause and immerse themselves in the details, whilst also encouraging them to pay attention to these small moments often overlooked.
‘First Light, Last Light’ is a solo exhibition in response to being artist-in-residence at Lon Retreat, Point Lonsdale and will be on display from December 12 to February 1, 2026.
It is open daily for viewing from 9am-4pm
25 Gill Rd
Point Lonsdale, VIC
