There’s a certain magic in the air when you stand beneath a grove of eucalyptus trees at twilight—their leaves catching the last light, their scent released into the warmth of the evening, their branches swaying gently in the breeze. The land hums with life—koalas nestled in the canopy, cockatoos calling to each other, tiny gum nuts scattered underfoot like little time capsules of the season just passed.

Eucalypt Whispers is the beginning of a journey—the first painting in my Funky Botanicals series, where I sought to capture the essence of Australian flora through color, texture, and negative painting. The soft, dreamy layers of blues, purples, and turquoise create an almost ethereal haze, like a memory unfolding. Warm Naples yellow highlights flicker through, like the last glimmers of sunlight through the leaves. The transparent white veil over the vibrant background allows the depth and movement to shimmer through, mimicking the way gum leaves shift and dance in the light.

It is both a study in process and a love letter to Australia’s iconic trees—their twisting, irregular leaves, their hidden colors, the resilience they represent, and the deep connection they hold to the land.

Perfect for those who are drawn to nature’s quiet moments, for lovers of Australian landscapes, and for those who want a painting that breathes with movement, warmth, and memory.

Details:
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
61 x 81 cm (1.5 cm deep)
Unframed, with wrapped edges continuing the artwork around the sides—framing optional
One of a kind—original artwork

If Eucalypt Whispers calls to you, perhaps it’s meant to be yours. Let it bring the soft, dreamlike beauty of the bush into your home.

The post Eucalypt Whispers appeared first on Liz de Koning.

The banksia is no ordinary flower. It is fire and earth, velvet and steel—a plant that thrives in wild places, bursting into bloom in a blaze of golds and rusts before giving way to seedpods that look like something from a dream.

For me, banksias are woven into memory—childhood sports chants, Girl Guide camps where they stood like sentinels among the trees, and the lingering feeling that they belonged to both the real world and the realm of myths. In early Australian literature, banksias were often tied to fairytales, little spirits hidden among their spiky leaves, their flowers glowing like embers in the dusk.

Touch of Fire captures that duality—soft yet strong, wild yet intricate. Created in my signature negative painting technique, the background layers were carefully built up, then revealed through delicate veils of color. The result is a piece that feels as though it’s half-emerging from the landscape, its textures shifting like a mirage. The deep, moody blues and purples create contrast against the burning warmth of the banksia itself, making it feel almost luminous.

Perfect for those who are drawn to the untamed beauty of the Australian landscape, for those who see stories in flowers, and for those who want a statement piece that holds both memory and fire.

Details:
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
50.5 x 76 cm (4 cm deep)
Unframed, with wrapped edges continuing the artwork around the sides—framing optional
One of a kind—original artwork

If Touch of Fire calls to you, perhaps it’s meant to be yours. Let it bring the wild, untamed beauty of the banksia into your space.

The post Touch of Fire appeared first on Liz de Koning.

There are flowers so rare, so otherworldly, that they seem to belong to another realm. The Sturt’s Desert Pea is one of them—a fierce burst of red and black against the endless expanse of arid land, thriving where few things dare to grow. It is a symbol of resilience, of beauty in harshness, of something deeply, unmistakably Australian.

But for some, it remains just beyond reach—a flicker on the horizon, shimmering in the heat like a vision waiting to be found.

A Flicker in the Mirage is born from that yearning—the desire to witness something extraordinary, to step into a place where the landscape glows under an unrelenting sun, and the desert itself blooms in waves of crimson. Painted using my signature negative painting technique, the underlayers of color remain visible beneath a veil of soft, transparent white, creating the illusion of a landscape glimpsed through shifting air. Textured details rise and fade, just as the desert shifts under the weight of light and time.

For those who have wandered the outback, for those who dream of it, for those who carry the spirit of wild places in their heart.

Details:
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
51 x 71 cm (4 cm deep)
Unframed, with edges fully painted to wrap the artwork around the canvas—framing optional
One of a kind—original artwork

If A Flicker in the Mirage calls to you, perhaps it’s meant to be yours. Let it bring the heat, beauty, and longing of the desert into your space.

The post A Flicker in the Mirage appeared first on Liz de Koning.