Painting Victoria: Capturing the Energy and Detail of an Iconic State
This piece became the second artwork in my This is Australia series, a collection that began as a personal creative break and quickly grew into something much bigger.
After finishing Queensland, I knew I wanted to continue. Each state carried its own identity, its own memories, and its own visual language, and Victoria offered a completely different perspective.
Experiencing Victoria
Victoria holds a mix of personal memories and places that stayed with me long before I ever experienced them myself.
My sister-in-law has lived in Melbourne for years, and I still remember road tripping down to visit her. She introduced us to the little hidden restaurants tucked away in laneways, and I’m fairly sure we ate dumplings for every meal that entire weekend. We went to the AFL, walked everywhere, and spent days simply exploring.
Melbourne felt vibrant, creative, and full of unexpected discoveries.
Some of my strongest associations with Victoria, though, came from my years working as a designer for 4WD magazines. I spent so much time laying out spreads filled with breathtaking photography from the Victorian High Country, and one place in particular always stayed with me: Craig’s Hut.
I’ve never had the chance to visit it myself, but the images left such a strong impression. Sitting quietly in the alpine landscape, it felt both iconic and deeply connected to Australia’s storytelling history. Including Craig’s Hut in this piece felt essential.
Another memory that shaped this artwork came from a road trip that began in Melbourne. My husband, my sister-in-law, and I drove along the coast on our way to Victor Harbor for a wedding. Along the way, we stopped at the Twelve Apostles, which was every bit as incredible as people say.
The funniest part was watching my husband take photo after photo, completely absorbed in capturing the moment. When we finally got back into the car, he went to look through them, only to realise his thumb had been covering the lens the entire time. Every single photo was unusable. He was so cranky at the time, but it has since become one of those stories we still laugh about.
Translating Victoria into artwork
When I began planning the Victoria piece, I returned to the same process I had used for Queensland, starting with a digital collage to explore how different elements could live together within a single composition.
Victoria felt grounded in landscape and storytelling. I focused on natural landmarks, iconic locations, and elements that reflected the state’s depth and character. Craig’s Hut became an anchor point, representing both the physical landscape and the emotional connection I had built through years of seeing it in print.
Each addition helped shape a clearer sense of Victoria’s identity, not as a checklist of landmarks, but as a layered and meaningful place shaped by memory, experience, and imagination.
The series takes shape
By the time Victoria was complete, it was clear that This is Australia had become more than just a creative exercise.
Each state was building on the last, forming a growing visual story of Australia through personal perspective. What had begun as a single piece for my own wall was steadily becoming a collection.
Victoria became an important part of that momentum.
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: Victoria 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.