Opal miner turned landscape painter breathes new life into the art market with his arresting landscapes. At thirty nine, Christopher Lees reflects an authority in his brushstrokes which is evident in his monumental perspectives of the Australian terrain. In his twenties Lees travelled extensively throughout remote Australia, working as an opal miner. Now based in rural Victoria, his experiences of the outback unravel on the canvas in panoramic and dioramic form. Painterly detail richly illuminates skies with delicate layers of graduated color. Finger-painting adds immediacy to cliff faces and calligraphic brushwork delicately enhances tree branches. Lees admires Fred Williams' abstractions in nature, and this influence appears in his reductionist tree forms. Whilst navigating his fishing adventures, Lee's builds up a memory bank of composites that he can later draw on - secret streams of iron-coloured water are bordered by iconic eucalypt and mountainsides littered with boulders, cliffs and crevasses. Lees' process is straightforward, beginning with a sketch which organizes the painting, creating a sense of balance and proportion that is transposed onto the canvas. The resultant landscapes are still, stark, and mysterious. Lees strives to attain perfection in the way each subject is rendered and harmony in composition. Devoid of people and fauna, they echo the experience of the painter in the studio with only his creative muse for company. "I exaggerate space and the elements of landscape which makes my work theatrical, but colour is the key…I want to ensure that people understand my work is concerned with the Australia landscape". The artist as a rule has favoured painting representational canvases in his eight year exhibiting career, such as "Drop Pool and Rise" (2000), "Solus for the Maker" (2001), "Terra Australia" (2003) and "Harmony Reign" 2004. At times, he has felt compelled to divert laterally, employing abstract and surrealist elements in an effort to evolve further towards the perfect picture. That striving for fresh expression is evident in his artwork. Christopher has not been academically trained. He says that he has"... never been with a teacher so I am a lot freer. For me, painting is instinctual. I know if a painting is working - practice also helps guide instinct…I would like my work to live on and I am conscious that people are buying works for investment. I want (the works) to last 500 years, so I use great materials." Having held ten sell-out shows at Libby Edwards Galleries, demand for his work is now driven by overseas and local collectors. Lees is represented in corporate and private collections in Australia, Asia, Italy, and the UK.