![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50Itgz3mhnp0TkdiR8eoZLo1l3fvt_ChkE-DPdl26mNzCEPTE7rqNwVnG01-hLTKC6qfkc-3ijOWR5HufqXybI9yaWeCmHIeNbc6lzU50PGRew_NGvfIDmb_TQv0pDRMdcZiH/s320/williamsLandscapeTriptych1962.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tfhmLvS397Vfz7A4gr7ut9hK1JqxMrQCmND6tkua6jOLzgzFiR0OLB67HTnh5Er5pOQSEPCg07mGUfH32y6Z50j5xbO1TxubZ7VUZvEhbgjgiJ282zEcZoLPJF7CrRgiAlvK/s280/williamsPilbara.jpg)
I was taken to walk along the Yarra at Kew, the subject of this print --
Recently Tate Modern showed a roomful of paintings and prints in the "Sign and Texture" exhibition. It included Riverbed from 1981, one of the last paintings he made --
What I didn't know until looking carefully through the Tate website, from which these images are respectfully plundered, is that his studio (in Upwey, in the Dandenongs outside Melbourne) was in a valley, so he raised the horizon in his compositions, leaving a narrow band of sky at the top -- as in Upwey Landscape 1964-5 --
You can see his distinctive style - he reduces the landscape to an all-over pattern, with small touches of paint to show trees and shrubs. "Rather than painting the landscape realistically, Williams was more concerned with exploring and creating a visual language through which he could express the character or essence of a particular Australian location in an inventive manner" says this resource.
Finally, Burnt Landscape 1970 - one of his Bush Fire paintings --
Ironically, this painting is one of the few that survived a fire at the warehouse where Williams stored his works.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiUYmAyI7oycgTM_gLeiT6pl8_7jDjMHiP7Fivjm0IX01JDevGWEltUZWH9dM_8_wEn-Ga-Q1QFueHQzBtuTkSoN-Jb6mpQYbgKtXZ4YsHg8I-yj59_utnQE7oT1xzC-9HURH/s320/williamsYarraBillabongKew1975.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghpSTPfmLDISnD6QhTBlgJjtjkU9-xA1FmfP2-3LsIqLQ9QLc0k1TOpNG1vV0ZFIufPvpp3drjdI3zPh6tC3zVhOW1IzDqyEYlP1xjlMf8eA1AWlcYGn1ir9-wgEX6VBmVhN94/s320/williamsRiverbed1981.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlrZDvAR9UQPijl8H4DtWUE8cGsdfQ-zHZhzOmjmnLLWL4SQxU723giIyqepJWLc63ubGQFZL5cGi1vbMOoTeIRGppWQUeboQd-rOShmqHbKf_XcRkqf55wJJauHeVxPf1bM3/s320/williamsUpweyLandscape1965.jpg)
Finally, Burnt Landscape 1970 - one of his Bush Fire paintings --
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLy6D0gytg4EoXfomsjtlqfbQR8gaEzLTCWYvNY6hkH9mdj-5QD-NYcix-BoAjyggCgp8jjnlBUZr0k3kMl6p82K8sgTg90V0w0QlKSOlpVv5G8K8OtTq2gD3Hyn3B6_6N803C/s320/williamsBurntLandscape1970.jpg)
Thank you for sharing that. I hadn't heard of this artist, but really enjoyed looking at the images. The Australian landscape is very special and he's captured it's feeling well. I particularly liked the last one of the fire.
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