Nancy Macalpine
Jurassic Dreams

oil on canvas
76 x 61 cm

Pelargonium Australe. Native storksbill. Pelargoniums tell us a story.They are found in Africa and Australia, a botanical link to the distant past before the continents floated apart in the Jurassic, 180 million years ago. Then the story zooms in to the dry rocky ground around the Cooks River that hosts the Australian Pelargonium, its umbrella like leaves fanning out, providing shelter for lizards, ants and beetles. Perky, pink tinged flowers, attract, pollinators. Once fertilised, the fruits form wreaths of stork’s bills, standing proud of the sprawling leaves, alert to opportunities to spread its fluffy seed on the next available breeze, carrying with it its ancient Jurassic dream.