It is the water element which draws artist Meaghan Shelton to the landscape. A country Victorian upbringing with summer holidays spent on the beaches of Phillip Island has seen her artistic concerns entwine with the psychological landscape of the sea.

This visual landscape she developed as a child now finds its translation in adulthood in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast.

"No matter where I find myself the water motif has remained a constant, a talisman or secret language by which to access an alternative landscape where mystery and the unknown are constant companions."

Her most recent body of paintings from the exhibition in 2009 "An Uncertain Landscape" looks at the many stories within a story.

In keeping with her fascination for the incongruous, Shelton weaves through her paintings the tale of a little bird who finds itself after becoming lost underwater.

Herein lies the exploration of the inextricable link between painting and music.

Most importantly, the artist calls to our attention the fragility of life in the face of the destruction of natural habitats, and the realisation that the loss of birdlife due to the threat of extinction also brings with it the loss of birdsong.