We Become Stars

“We Become Stars” is a painting about living in the city of Perth.

In the painting, you can see the city, its rivers and Rottnest, and the southwest and the forest below.

Sometimes we head down south on a Friday night. We leave work behind and turn toward the majesty of the forest, the peace, and the colours of Geographe Bay. As night comes on, we turn on our headlights and become stars in the night. We are the stars of our own lives, the stars of the city, and we light up the way as we travel.

At the top of the painting are the northern suburbs of Perth, and the oceanside town of Scarborough. Along the coast you can see City Beach and Cottesloe, down to Leighton and Port Beach. The Darling Scarp is changing colour as it turns to night with the stars above it. There are the glittering stars of people leaving the city and the lights of houses in the Darling Ranges. You can see the lines of cars moving around the city. As night comes on, you will see the shapes of the city and all the places that delight us. The Norfolk pines in Cottesloe, dingo on the Dingo Flour sign, the rainbow of the container sculpture, the Round House in Fremantle, and the giant ships bringing goods into the port.

Down south, you can see the arc of Geographe Bay, Busselton and Margaret River and all of the towns and bays, and the graceful trees of the Boranup Forest on the left.