The underpainting, developed months ago, was vertically formatted for an intended interior self-portrait before I changed my mind and placed it in horizontal landscape format in fitting with ‘lake mungo paintings’ now that finally I felt submerged in the subject.
In this image I recall my first visit to Lake Mungo National Park in the late 1980s when a group of fellow travellers and I could only get time off in December. Undeterred we ventured forth into the heat, dust and flies. The trip although adventurous was also disappointing due to the forty plus degree heat which dictated we explore the lunettes late in the day. Little work, frustration and discomfort sent us heading for the Darling River and Lake Menindee which at that time was full.
In this image I tried to record memories of these feelings and how later in my studio I reflected on how experiencing that environment and its forms influenced the way in which I constructed the imagery. Anatomical shapes, landscape and atmospheric shapes merge into each other.
Elaine d'Esterre 
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