2026

Path amongst the trees

Path Amongst the Trees is an ode to the magpie. A familiar presence within my everyday surroundings. Living at the end of a cul-de-sac, overlooking a park with many eucalyptus trees, I am constantly aware of the birds that inhabit this space. The magpies in my garden have become grounding figures, shaping my sense of home and presence.

The works combine abstracted watercolour washes with fluid, watery marks, alongside spray-painted eucalyptus leaves collected from walks. In contrast, the magpies are painted in oil, offering a more representational focus. This interplay reflects the balance between observation and abstraction.

Through this process, I reflect on the quiet, often unnoticed rhythms of the natural world. Watching the birds becomes a grounding act, an invitation to slow down and reconnect with a parallel existence that surrounds us.

An Ode to the Magpie

You perch up high
and swoop down low.
Your songs echo wherever you go.
Your morning calls whisper through the leaves
as I see you dancing amongst the trees.
Your grace is seen in how you soar.
A fleeting beauty I adore.

Debbie, Bess, Lois, Thea, Janet, Nora, Eleanor, Dorrit, Jessie, Olga, Frances, Peg, Violet, Josephine, Rae, Helen, Bessie, Sandi, Gladys, Bernice, Evelyn, Watching and Waiting, In Stillness, An Encounter with Crows.

Watercolour, Acrylic and Oil Paint, with Acrylic Ink on Wooden Board.

Path Amongst the trees

Beyond Paths explores the experience of being suspended between paths, both physically and psychologically. Drawing on the opening passage of The Divine Comedy: “Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a forest dark.” This notion of the dark woods becomes a metaphor for confusion, uncertainty, and the subconscious, where direction is unclear.

Through dense, tangled compositions inspired by the Australian bush, I construct spaces that feel both enveloping and disorienting. Twisting trunks, overlapping limbs, and intersecting branches resist a single point of entry or exit, instead holding the viewer in a state of in-betweenness.

Working primarily with charcoal on large-scale paper, I embrace its capacity for deep blacks and soft, atmospheric light. The contrast between darkness and glimmers of illumination creates a quiet tension, one that mirrors the emotional duality within the work. There is a gentle melancholy present, informed by an increasing distance from accessible green spaces and the steady encroachment of built environments. At the same time, the work reflects a desire to be cocooned within nature, to find stillness and solace among trees.

Ultimately, these drawings invite the viewer into a contemplative space. One that is slightly disquieting yet peaceful, where the density of the bush becomes both a site of overwhelm and a place of refuge.

Between Paths

600 x 900 mm (x2 Two seperate pieces)

Charcoal on Paper

Path Amongst the Trees - En Plein Air Studies

Working directly from the landscape offers an experience that cannot be replicated in the studio. Being outside in the fresh air, surrounded by natural sounds, and encountering the many birds and koalas that inhabit these places deepens my connection to the environment. It is through this direct observation that I notice the small details, relationships, and moments that inform my work.

Time spent in nature is both restorative and inspiring. It recharges me creatively and provides the foundation for future works. These landscape studies form part of an ongoing exploration of the Australian landscape and my relationship to it.

Waite Arboretum Study #2, Waite Arboretum Study #1, Olivia’s Place #2 and Verdant Reserve Study 2025 #1

250 x 300 mm

Oil Paint on Canvas Board

Urrbrae Gate House 2025, Verdant Reserve Study 2025 #3, Anstey Hill: Quarry Track 2025 and Verdant Reserve Study 2025 #2

150 x 200 mm

Oil Paint on Canvas Board

Strawberry Tree Study, You Whisper to Me and Olivia’s Place #1

Oil paint on Canvas Board and Stretched Canvas

2025

equilibrium

Kari Doyle is an Adelaide-based emerging artist and arts educator, currently studying a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Adelaide Central School of Art and holding a previous degree in Photography.

In the midst of life’s busyness, she seeks moments of exhalation and clarity—often found in the liminal spaces of daily existence. Slow, quiet walks; magpies warbling; sky gazing; and watching birds dance in the early mornings and evenings provide her with these moments of calm and focus.

Kari’s practice is deeply rooted in personal experience and inspired by close observation of the natural world. She gathers feathers, leaves, and images of birds, using sketching, photography, and quiet reflection to inform and shape her work.

Her magpie paintings emerge as composite images of partially observed, partially imagined spaces, aiming to evoke a sense of being enveloped by birds and trees. Through her collage work, Kari strives to capture the ethereal qualities of energy in nature and the sensation of air—reminiscent of gentle breezes and birds gliding through their spaces.

Currently, Kari is focused on studying the landscape through both en plein air painting and working from photographs taken during walks. These dual approaches allow her to respond intuitively to place while exploring ways to capture a figurative representation of the landscape.

Ultimately, Kari’s work reflects a desire to convey an appreciation of the natural world.

Autumn Solace

1000 x 750 mm

Acrylic and Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas

Hello Friend #1, 2 & 3

254 x 203 mm (8 x 10 in)

Mixed Media Collage and Oil Paint on Wooden Board

Align, Exhale, Surrender, Seek, Wonder and Explore.

305 x 305 mm (12 x 12 in)

Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas

Grace, Stella, Edith, Dora, Agnes and Ethel

178 x 127 mm (5 x 7 in)

Oil Paint on Canvas Board

Summer Days

1000 x 750 mm

Acrylic and Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas

I Dream of the Cottage by the Sea, Morrow Park, Verdant Reserve and Rose’s Gap: Grampians.

305 x 305 mm (12 x 12 in)

Oil Paint on Stretched Canvas

Magpie Drawings

297 x 210 mm (A4)

Graphite on Cartridge Paper

Magpie Paintings

Margaret, Dorrit and Florence (left to right)

15 x 15 cm (6 x 6 in)

watercolour, acrylic ink and oil paint on wooden board

Artworks from Mezz Artist Market

Sky Gazing #2, 1, 3 and 4 (left to right, top to bottom)

15 x 15 cm (6 x 6 in)

watercolour, acrylic ink and oil paint on wooden board

2024

liminal space

In the midst of life's busyness, Kari Doyle seeks moments of exhalation and clarity, often finding them in the liminal spaces of daily existence. Her art practice is deeply autobiographical, reflecting the feelings and experiences of her own life.

Inspired by her local environment and daily encounters, she gathers and collects natural elements, with a particular focus on bird inhabitants. Through observation, sketching, and photography, these elements become catalysts in her artistic process.

Her paintings emerge as composite images of partially observed, partially imagined spaces, aiming to evoke a sense of being enveloped by birds and trees. Through her collage work, she strives to capture the ethereal qualities of energy in nature and the sensation of air—reminiscent of gentle breezes and birds gliding through their spaces.

Ultimately, her work reflects a desire to convey her appreciation of the natural world.