“In Jan 2022 a fire burnt through large swathes of Meelup Regional Park.

This is a spot, near Curtis Bay, that I often like to paint and it is normally surrounded by bird filled bush, that leads down to the beach.

Here I gaze out to the bay, with the hillside behind me that is black, charred and in some spots, still smoking.

There is no birdsong and no greenery. The air smell smokie and dry.

Thanks to the many firefighters that fought and contained the damage, today there are signs of green poking through the black soil and I know it will not be long before I can hear the birds once again as I sit and paint my bay.”