Cuppa?

cuppa?
2025
acrylic on canvas
60.9 x 121.8cm

For my Sulman work, I wanted to show my appreciation to a native reptile of eastern QLD and NSW, in my own contemporary way. 

I often see this old, large eastern water dragon when I go to my lunch spot at work, down by the river. It comes out of the shrubbery and sits on the ledge of the bench, right near my arm. When in its presence, I have an overwhelming feeling of peace and through this I am able to find a connection. This connection feels familiar, kind of like sitting down with an elder for a cuppa.
 
I wanted to depict the connection through the blurring of the background, so the focus is purely on the water-dragon, as this is how it feels when I’m around it. The shrubbery, the light grey for the buildings, bridges, water and then the dark grey, white and blue depicts the concrete/rock bench it sits on; all this blurring/fading out when I am sitting there with it.