‘Lemon Scented Gum at Sunset’
2024
Acrylic & Aerosol on Canvas
800mm x 1100mm
Lemon Scented Gum at Sunset reflects Tervo’s ongoing refinement of painting with a minimum number of strokes. The work is based on scientific reference photographs taken by his brother, an ecologist who specialises in Australian native plants. It pays respect to the structure, movement and quiet authority of the natural world. Rather than forcing a composition onto the subject, Tervo allows the tree itself to guide the placement of each element.
The piece is built through loose, gestural mark-making using brushes, rollers, paint pens and aerosol. The tools are given room to lead the surface, not just describe it. This creates a result that feels both instinctive and controlled. The composition spirals outward from the centre of the lower third. It is anchored by the leaves in the bottom right, which help hold the painting in balance.
The work changes depending on how it is viewed. Up close, from a distance, or looked through, it offers a different experience each time. In that last mode, the eye completes the implied horizon line and the image resolves into the feeling of a lemon scented gum at sunset during bushfire season. It is also a quiet reference to the regenerative cycles that many Australian native plants depend upon.