Shelley McLean: Whispers and Tempests

“My work is a celebration of the Australian landscape — its vastness, moodiness, and quiet poetry. I’m drawn to the ever-changing light, the shifting atmospheres, and the subtle details that reveal themselves when you pause and truly look.

Being immersed in nature brings a deep sense of peace and awe, yet it is often juxtaposed with the untamed wildness of the landscape and the unpredictable energy of the weather, creating a fascinating tension between calm and powerful, gentle and fierce.

In addition to light, colour, and form, I seek to portray this tension as well as non-visual experiences — particularly of sound, fragrance, emotional responses, and my sense of wonder in the natural world.

Each work is an invitation for the viewer to move from mere observation of the colours and forms towards a reconnection with their own experiences of landscape, and through the artwork itself, towards new perceptions and deeper meanings.

I work with a range of mediums including soft pastels, acrylics and oils. Pastels remain my favourite medium as they allow me to create varying textures depending on the subject and the mood or effect I am trying to achieve. This is further influenced by the choice of surface — from textured fine-grit papers to smoother varieties — each enabling the gradual build-up of multiple layers, or subtle marks that allow the underlying surface to show through.”

– Shelley McLean 2026