Painting New South Wales: Bringing Together Icons and Everyday Moments
This painting is part of my This is Australia series, a collection that began as a personal creative break and gradually grew into a visual exploration of Australia through memory, experience, and imagination.
Unlike Queensland and Western Australia, where my connection was shaped by childhood and family life, New South Wales marked the beginning of my creative career and the moment everything started to take shape.
Where my creative career began
I had just finished university and, like most graduates, was trying to figure out what came next.
My boyfriend (now husband) came across a job listing at Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. It wasn’t a design role. It was an admin position. But it was a media company, producing magazines and television, and something about it felt like an opportunity. A foot in the door.
So I applied, and before long, we were packing up and moving to New South Wales.
The job was based in the Blue Mountains, and it was one of the most striking places I had ever experienced.
I still remember those early drives to work. Winding mountain roads, dense bushland, and mist hanging low across the landscape. One morning, I discovered a back road that climbed higher and deeper into the mountains. I was convinced I had gone the wrong way. But when the road opened up, it revealed this vast, quiet expanse that felt almost untouched.
That drive stayed with me.
What began as an admin role gradually evolved, and over the next nine years, I moved into design and built my career creating magazines. I spent those years immersed in photography, storytelling, and composition, learning how powerful place could be when translated visually.
New South Wales was where that journey began.
A state defined by contrast
What stayed with me most about New South Wales was its contrast.
The Blue Mountains felt ancient, rugged, and quiet, while the city carried a completely different energy. There were hidden laneways, coastal landmarks, and iconic structures that felt instantly recognisable.
New South Wales held both worlds at once.
When I began building this artwork, I wanted to capture that balance. The raw beauty of the landscape alongside the unmistakable symbols that define the state’s identity.
Native wildlife. Recognisable landmarks. Elements that speak to both place and memory.
It wasn’t about documenting everything. It was about capturing the feeling.
Translating New South Wales into artwork
As with the other states in the series, the process began digitally.
I built a collage of reference images, testing how different elements could live together within a single composition. Some symbols felt essential immediately, while others were added slowly as the piece evolved.
The goal was never to create a literal map.
It was to create a visual story.
New South Wales became a reflection of beginnings. The place where I stepped into a creative life, learned how to see differently, and began building the skills that would eventually lead me here.
A foundational piece in the series
By the time this artwork was complete, it was clear how important New South Wales had been in shaping both the series and my own creative path.
It wasn’t just another state. It was the place where everything shifted.
Where uncertainty turned into direction.
Where a job became a career.
Where observation became storytelling.
You can follow the ongoing This is Australia series and see the remaining states over on Instagram at @laura.hamzic.art.
What happens next
I’ll be releasing This is Australia: New South Wales as a fine art print as part of the growing collection, with plans already unfolding for future releases inspired by the series.
If you’d like to be the first to know when prints and future releases become available, you can join my email list below and I’ll keep you updated as the collection continues to evolve.