Between Identity, Place and Biosphere.
I am a self-taught artist working from Lennox Street Studios in Sydney. My art practice, embedded in the essence of nature, explores themes of ecopsychology, our impact on the environment, and the resulting connections among landscape, place, and identity.
A decade of living remotely, with no electricity, west of the Blue Mountains, made me deeply attuned to the landscape. Free from screens, technology, and urban distractions, I immersed myself, internalising the landscape and the rhythm of nature. The experience of living in isolation continues to inform my work. (See Bio)
I believe my paintings already exist, waiting to be summoned or chased, a kind of rewind moving forward, form, composition, working through me, into the painting. I begin with nothing predetermined. Once I am in, the painting takes over. It directs me toward something that reveals itself slowly. Not every work opens that door; some are difficult, and time doesn't always stand still, but when it does, there is a feeling of magic in unveiling rather than discovery. I come away a little more enlightened and complete when the title of the composition lands.
I use a unique process: I fold, press, and push the paint between the canvas, unfolding it to reveal bilateral symmetries found in nature. This initial step lays the foundation for applying additional layers of paint medium, which I wear back through scratching, washing, leaand leavingnants and finishing with paint skins or applique. Each layer builds on the previous one. I mask out the negative space and use metallic and iridescent pigments to paint in reflected light. My approach is intuitive, unplanned, and biomorphic, inviting viewers into a visual sensation, windows into my world(s), and a connection back to nature through painting.
Art Exploring the Relationship Between Identity, Place, and the Biosphere.
Hope Springs Eternal
Biomorphic Abstraction
Gordon R. Carmichael is a self-trained, outsider artist based at Lennox Street Studios in Sydney. His abstract, nature-inspired works express and inform what he sees, feels, and experiences—themes informed by climate change, the Anthropocene, Symbiocene, and inspired by the interconnection of life, between landscape, place, and identity.
Carmichael’s artwork develops naturally and organically, almost as if it were growing. Rather than meticulously planning each detail, he works from instinct and intuition, allowing marks to emerge spontaneously. Inspired by forces beyond the visible world, he explores how our senses connect us to the environment and how painting can become a portal into that felt experience.
A distinctive part of his process involves folding the canvas with paint in between, then applying guided pressure to create symmetrical patterns echoing those found throughout nature. This technique is refined by adding and removing layers, letting raised textures form visual pathways that invite exploration.
His use of rich metallic pigments plays with light and movement, symbolising freedom and impermanence. Organic forms suggest life’s energy while also hinting at its fragility and ephemerality. The resulting works engage with ecological consciousness and point toward a presence beyond the material world—a connection between creation, creator, and the deeper field of awareness that binds all living things.