“Like many Australians, I grew up in an era when summer holidays were long, hot and languorous. My senses still tingle at the smell of wood smoke from the BBQ, burning asphalt, eucalyptus and chlorine. Days moved slowly at the local pool and on the many beaches stretching down the bay to the peninsula. Although I live in country Victoria, I often spend summer in Somers with dear friends who kindly lend me their carport for a makeshift painting camp. These paintings, completed over Easter 2024, are a celebration of the beach and the gentler rhythms of holidays.”