Nicholas Harding has died.

The cancer they thought they'sd beaten returned to take him the other day at the age of 66. We lost a good man and beautiful painter whose work is loved.

He could paint a stretch of bush or an umbrella in the sand and make you think you were seeing them for the first time. He did beauty with absolute bravado. One of his flame trees in full bloom is a dazzling sight. But then he painted a patch of railway tracks that takes your breath away.