Baden Croft: Bush Bash 2023

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Bush Bash- is a series of vibrant oil paintings that aim to capture the essence of the Mornington Peninsula's remaining woodland areas.

In this series, Croft's works are rendered in rich greens and earth tones, with an emphasis on the interplay between light and shadow. The thickly applied paint gives native trees and foliage a tactile quality and sense of life, as if one could reach out and touch them. The effect, particularly in the banksia works is almost sculptural. The warm, ochre red tones of the intricate banksia flower contrast beautifully with the cooler hues of its surrounding, further emphasising its unique character as an emblematic Australian native plant. This body of work also symbolises a shift in the artist's technical approach. Throughout this series Croft newly employs hundreds of individually hand cut stencils to give a sharper edge to leaves and peeling bark. The result is a more honest textural representation of the landscape while allowing the artist to apply paint the way he finds most satisfying, swiftly and unapologetically.