Tracey Cockburn - Cloudscape Series - 2024

Artists Statement

The series of works in the Cloudscape series explore the unique quality of light and clouds in Tasmanian (colonial) painting.

View of Mount Wellington from Risdon by W.C. Piguenit, held in the Allport Museum Fine Arts Collection, with its delicate depiction of a clouded sky, started a journey of enquiry leading to this body of work.

 Piguenit departed from earlier colonial artists in his works by placing an emphasis on atmospheric conditions of mist and clouds enhancing the drama of his subjects and the romantic landscape. Studying the works of early Tasmanian artists, and looking back to the influences of English romantic artists John Constable and J.M.W. Turner, the series draws inspiration from the obsession with capturing the unique light of the Tasmanian landscape and atmosphere.

The fascination with the study of and representation of clouds has been the subject matter for artists for thousands of years. 

The works were created using digital printmaking techniques using an intricate process of layering using found images, photographs, maps and plans. The works are all printed with archival quality inks.

Tracey Cockburn trained in printmaking at the Tasmanian School of Art in its heyday in the 1990s. She has lived in South Hobart under kunanyi / Mt Wellington for 15 years and has been a resident of Tasmania for 30 years. She works in the Local Government sector in community and cultural services and makes some art when time allows.