Fluid Art Paintings

Paintings inspired by geology, aerial landscapes and crystal textures.

SMALL

Blue Agate

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Blue Agate’ is inspired by the colourful chalcedony (silica) found in geodes. Formation usually presents as a rough outer edge, followed by a coloured glassy middle layer with tiny quartz crystals in the centre. Agate slices are often used as decorative wind chimes and sun-catchers.

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Eruption of Kīlauea

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Eruption of Kīlauea’ is inspired by the shield volcano Kīlauea located on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA. This active volcano produces fountains of lava that rises up its flanks, forming layers of basaltic lava flows. Ash deposits in the air fall and surround the caldera with layers of pumice.

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Gold & Quartz

Acrylics on board (28 x 35.5 cms)

‘Gold & Quartz’ is inspired by the mineralisation of gold deposits within a quartz host rock. Quartz veins are formed during faulting of the Earth’s crust, where the hot fluid rises between the fault blocks. Once cooled, these fluids solidify, forming mineral veins. Erosional processes then exposes the mineral veins at the surface. Quartz is one of the main fluids associated with faulting activity and gold is naturally found within this host rock.

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Lightning Ridge Black Opal

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Lightning Ridge Black Opal’ is inspired by the opals found at Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia. Opals are a hydrated amorphous form of silica and when polished flashes of colour reflect through the crystal. Opals from Lightning Ridge often form blue/ blue black opals with flecks of yellow, green and red. Opals are considered gemstones and are a popular choice of stone used in jewellery.

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Metasomatic Calcite

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Metasomatic Calcite’ is representing the mineralised calcitic hydrothermal veining that can be found in some igneous deposits. Observing these deposits under a special microscope fluoresces (shines) the calcite to a deep red colour. Metasomatic mineralisation can be used to reconstruct the geological history of an igneous deposit.

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Mudpot

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Mudpot’ is inspired by the ponds of boiling hot mud found in the Mud Volcano Area in the Hayden Valley of Yellowstone, USA. These springs are highly acid and are continually bubbling, often releasing sulfur (eggy) gas which condenses and precipitates as a yellow powder around the edges of the ponds.

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Pink Salt Lakes

Acrylics on board (28 x 35.5 cms)

‘Pink Salt Lakes’ is inspired by The Great Salt Lake in Utah, USA. In 1959 the Southern Pacific Railroad built over the lake, dividing it into two. One side of the lake is blue, while the other side is pink. The pink side contains halophilic (salt tolerant) algae and bacteria and gives the lake its striking pink colour.

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Yellowstone Hot Spring

Tempera on canvas (23.5 x 30 cms)

‘Yellowstone Hot Spring’ is inspired by the highly volcanic area of Yellowstone, USA. Covering an area of nearly 3500 square miles, these beautiful hydrothermal springs pepper the landscape. The hot springs are a life line for the flora and fauna living within the park, creating a welcoming warmth of heat during the bitter winters. Microscopic organisms dominate the outskirts of the springs, forming bright orange bacterial mats.

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MEDIUM

Fire Opal

Tempera on canvas (30 x 40 cms)

‘Fire Opal’ is inspired by the Mexican fire opals. This painting represents a rough fire opal still in its original host rock. Fire opals contain high concentrations of iron oxide, which when polished gives these opals a bright red – orange colour. Beloved by the Aztec and Mayan civilizations, they named it quetzalitzlipyollitli, or ‘ the stone of the bird of paradise ‘.

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Petrified Wood

Tempera on canvas (30 x 40 cms)

‘Petrified Wood’ is inspired by the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, USA. The Petrified Forest contains hundreds of fossilised remains of ancient conifer trees. During the Triassic (~200 million years ago), these trees would have stood tall and proud. However, with their shallow root systems floods would cause them to become easily uprooted. They would fall into the riverbed where water and sediments covered them, eventually turning them to stone. The geochemical variation of minerals in the water transforms the inner wood into a kaleidoscope of colours.

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LARGE

Cinder Cone

Tempera on canvas (40 x 50 cms)

‘Cinder Cone’ is inspired by the cinder cone volcanoes in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA. Cinder cones have steep sides made of highly vesicular rocks that are thrown out of the volcano during eruptions, coating the sides with fragments of jagged rocks. Oxidation gives these rocks a rusty looking colour and gives the volcano a red hue. These volcanoes are often surrounded by large dark lava flows around the base.

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Caldera

Tempera on canvas (40 x 50 cms)

‘Caldera’ is inspired by the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA. In 1980 the north flank started swelling, resulting in an eruption that removed the north face of the volcano. The explosion was so fierce that as the north slope fell away a lateral air blast projected ash, pumice and superheated air 15 miles from the volcano. This was swiftly followed by localised pyroclastic flows, mudflows and floods. The blast zone can still be observed today as ash deposits and lava flows dominate the surrounding lowlands.

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