As a painter and photographer Michael Wolfe draws inspiration from the landscape around his home in Castlemaine, Victoria. He has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally and his work is included in public, corporate and private collections.
“I’ve often said I’m just happy getting to the next picture, meaning that, over the years there is rarely a huge shift in the form of my paintings. These paintings, which I began in 2020 take a slightly different direction – open, flat areas of colour, collapsed perspective – taking their cues from the granite tors and boulders of Hanging Rock near Mount Macedon and Woodend in Central Victoria.
Hanging Rock has fitted in so much over 6 million years… from a sacred place for local indigenous people and backdrop to Joan Lindsay’s book Picnic at Hanging Rock and Peter Weir’s film of the same title, to a colourful host of music concerts, markets and popular horse races, the Rock tells many tales about the history of the Macedon Ranges.
“I’ve been painting this country for many years and never tire of the rolling hills, granite outcrops, rhythms, textures and colours. There’s order and geometry, and mostly wonderful chaotic confusion. It’s a beautiful, rugged, constantly changing landscape that I love using as a backdrop and motif in my paintings.”
"I'm always looking for the sensual and lyrical, providing a window to enjoy nuance, colour, form and the relationship between forms. Mostly it's about pleasure.
“I love adventuring through the lurching granite hills of Central Victoria and over the years I’ve returned again and again to walk, sketch, take photos and paint. The changing seasons from the lush winter and spring grasses to the bleached harsh light of summer provide an inspiring backdrop.”