UNDER THE CANOPY

acrylic paintings by Nic Everist

When traveling along the East Coast of Australia, Nic visited and hiked along many National Parks and rainforests and discovered the interconnected ecosystem that fuelled life there.
How the vines wrapped around trees, how the roots were intertwined and reached far, how the debris from fallen plants and trees decomposed to fertilise the ground.
Using nature as therapy, Nic often uses these explorations as an opportunity to delve into intrinsic stories that are laying dormant, discover lessons and define thought processes through the slowing down of being out in the natural world. During these explorations, Nic was taken by how fragile the ecosystems were and how essential they were to maintain life, stirring up a comparison between these ecosystems in nature and the social ecosystems we live in.

 These artworks represent the lessons that nature teaches.
The mindfulness, the being present, the beauty in the waiting, in being slow.
In this series, Nic applies techniques that have been used since the beginning of her practice, specifically fluid pouring to replicate the textures in nature, such as the bark, trees and shrubs.

The unpredictable nature of pouring reflects the chaotic design of nature itself and each piece draws in the viewer to look a little closer at the details.