After the Rain

There are moments in the Australian landscape that seem almost beyond description. The days following rain are among them—when the billabong and surrounding country awaken in a thousand shades of green that appear for only a short time before retreating once more.

After the Rain is an exploration of that fleeting experience.

Built through successive layers of colour and mark-making, the painting combines luminous teals, viridians, aquas, deep forest greens, and flashes of yellow and coral. Rather than being physically mixed on a palette, many of these colours are allowed to sit beside one another, creating a process known as optical mixing, where the viewer's eye completes the work.

Delicate vertical forms suggest reeds and saplings emerging from the landscape, while the soft, atmospheric upper register dissolves into memory and light.

Inspired by the billabong near Kerrie Bonnel's home in Albury, this work is both a celebration of renewal and a reminder of the transient beauty found in the natural world.

It invites the viewer to pause and remember that some colours can only ever belong to a particular place and moment in time.