National Gallery of Australia | Audio Tour | Grace Cossington Smith

By time she did this painting Cossington Smith had moved beyond her early art training with Dattilo Rubbo. She recalled that while her art teacher was concerned about depth in representing a scene, she had become more interested in depicting radiating, concentric forms in luminous colour. As she said: ‘In those days I saw things as a pattern expressed in colour. It was quite a natural thing. I didn’t force myself to do it … I believe you’ve got to have a feeling about what you want to paint. It’s half unconscious, but you do know what you don’t want to do’. (Interview with Alan Roberts, 1970)