One of my top three favourite artists, I knew about Fred Williams when i was in High School Art classes but it was not until years later when I happened to fly across the outback on the plane that I realised the close resemblance it was between Fred Williams' artwork and the actual Australian landscape. I also began to sense the love Williams had for this unique landscape - time and time again in his paintings, etchings and prints he had made certain elements stood out in order to emphasis on the unique beauty of the outback, it was like a love letter, in drawing to announce his love for the land.
I remember in particular one particular visit to the NSW art gallery years ago, when I saw a Fred William landscape painting up close, and found it incomprehensible to look at the individual oil brushstrokes. However, after wandering around the gallery for sometime I happened to turn around and saw the painting again from a distance, and I was awestruck by the stunning beauty of the work - it was a landscape from afar glowing with a soft pink light, in the early morning sun. It was, simply magnificent. Like the landscape itself, the artwork is to be appreciated from a distance afar and not close up.
Williams shared his love for the Australian outback through his works, these works also guide me to recognise its beauty and I really think that this is one of the greatest things an artist could accomplish.
All images - image search on Google under Fred Williams.
The bottom image taken at the New South Wales Art gallery.
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