Inspired by the nostalgic charm of the weathered Australian shack, I wanted to illustrate a collection of intricate little shacks that embody a sense of Australian antiquity and shabby charm.

It began with a rainy day in March (I think it had actually been raining for almost 2 weeks straight!) and so I was on a deep dive into Instagram looking at all these gorgeous places on the Shacks Of Tasmania account. I opened my sketchbook and with a biro pen, started sketching all these little houses with their retro shapes and federation-style finishings. As the sketch grew I added in some directional grasses and docile animals, hashing out the idea of nature reclaiming the land.

Over the next few weeks I collected lots of photo references including some of my favourite little shacks from the seaside town of Currarong and got to work on illustrating them on my iPad. Once I had plenty of illustrated shacks I started to experiment with how I could weave them all together using the beautiful velvet grasses you’d often find across the planes of Tasmania and regions in the Snowy’s. I love those mossy green and brown tones with pops of rusty oranges and silvery purples. I also wanted to illustrate little nooks like ponds and creeks, and pockets of pretty wildflowers you would happen to find when exploring these wild places. All of these combined along with some native Australian animals and birds and I finally had all that I needed to create the final composition.

This was the hard part! I had over 8 little shacks that needed to look like they shared the same landscape but would also work individually on their own when you focused in on it. Using the rolling grasslands, creeks, ponds, and sandy tracks I had illustrated, I created a seamless land that housed my rustic little shacks. I absolutely loved getting stuck into the details of each setting and wanted to make sure each segment was unique but organically flowed into the next.

My favourite illustrations are those that really pull the viewer in and force you to get lost in the landscape. That was my goal when finalising my Shack composition. I hope you can get lost in the design and discover little hidden animals, spot the odd Kookaburra or hidden Kangaroo (yep try count all three!) and most of all I hope this envokes a sense of nostalgia for those of you have fond memories of your favourite cabins and shacks and a sense of appreciation for the beauty of the Australian landscape.

You can shop my Shack print in A2, A3 and A4 sizes below.