The quality of light

I remember many years ago watching a programme on the development of a distinctive New Zealand and Australian school of art, which placed heavy emphasis on the influence of the different kind of light that exists in the Southern Hemisphere.

I was thinking about that as I drove home tonight - perhaps because that difference is most evident as we begin to loose the light. Brisbane doesn't have daylight saving and I'd say 5.45 pm pretty much matches the sunset level we get in New Zealand at 8 or later by this time of year. The motorway is, by and large, tree lined for most of the drive and the definition of the leaves as the light just begins to fade is truly beautiful. Tonight it crossed my mind that sub consciously it is almost like driving down some of my favorite roads on the West Coast.

It is also a light that, while Antipodean, is also subtly different from Christchurch or Wellington. I decided today that I think it is slight more yellow, or stays yellow for longer - it has the warmth of the desert rather than the coolness of mountains and sea.

I'm hoping there is enough sun when I get back to New Zealand this weekend to make a decent comparison!