Huka Fall, New Zealand

There are places in the world that stop you completely. That make you forget everything except the sheer, overwhelming fact of where you are standing. Huka Falls on the North Island of New Zealand is one of those places. Fifteen thousand litres of water thunder through a narrow gorge every second — a force so raw and so relentless it feels less like water and more like something ancient and unstoppable asserting itself. This painting doesn't try to show you what Huka Falls looks like. It tries to make you feel what it is like to stand at the edge of it, the roar moving through your body, the mist on your face, the extraordinary turquoise of the water below. Huka Falls tumble and crash, finding its own unstoppable path and then meeting the most extraordinary pool of calming teal and aquamarine below. A single flame of gold burns at the heart of the falls. Tiny fern fronds cling to the rock face. White droplets scatter like spray caught in light. This is a painting born from a moment of genuine awe. And it carries that awe with it wherever it may hang in your home .

1624 × 2480 px