Collection: Emma Neill

During the Nature Foundation Residency, much of which I spent at Hiltaba, I found myself drawn to the extraordinary compositions that nature has been creating over millions of years. Every arrangement of colour, shape, and light felt like a finished artwork waiting to be translated into paint on canvas. Through en plein air painting, I captured the raw colours of the landscape to bring back to my studio to study. I am particularly fascinated by the warm oranges that sit beside their complementary opposites, forming relationships that seem almost intentionally designed. I also explored the landscape using a drone, revealing aerial perspectives that uncovered abstract patterns, textures, and geological formations impossible to appreciate from the ground. These views deepened my fascination with the way erosion, shadow, and vegetation combine to create compositions that feel both effortless and meticulously arranged. Rather than inventing compositions, my practice is about translating the artworks that nature has already created, inviting viewers to experience the beauty of these vast and remarkable landscapes.