This series of paintings and collages draws inspiration from Nick Fintan's recent artist's residency at Whibayganba/Nobby's Headland Lighthouse. The works are a direct response to the extraordinary landscape and perspective offered by Nobby’s lighthouse on the NSW east coast.
While on the headland, a fellow artist and Nick marvelled at the vast horizon and the brilliant play of light on the ocean. He asked, "How do you capture this view in a painting?" Nick Fintan's instinct was a conventional, literal, single-point perspective that couldn't do it justice.
To convey the visceral sensation of being in that landscape, he turned to coloured cardboard and paper, creating intuitive collages in direct response to the coastline. He also made simple line drawings inspired by the rhythmic waves of the Pacific Ocean. Some of these collages are featured in the exhibition.
These collages intentionally embrace simplicity, echoing the vastness of the ocean and sky dominating the headland's view. The colours are not descriptive but rather intuitively connected to the lasting visual impressions etched in his mind.
Back in the studio, Nick expanded upon these collages to create larger paintings, using them as source material. The process remained intuitive, guided by instinct rather than a rational depiction of the topography.
This new body of work represents freedom from the confines of figurative representation. It strives to convey a sense of openness, opting for expansive statements rather than constricting definitions when depicting the landscape. Nick Fintan's aim with these paintings is to capture the tangible sensation of being immersed in the vast horizon of the Australian southeast coastline.