![FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Joanna Logue and her husband Martin Pera at Essington Park last week. FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Joanna Logue and her husband Martin Pera at Essington Park last week.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/7PapGKjYPrPEgYfvAPt3Wq/e7a8b9ea-09bf-4fbd-9d8b-308b7b314d80.jpg/r0_453_5232_3406_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AWARD-WINNING artist Joanna Logue has been back at her beloved Essington Park in Oberon to prepare her artworks for an exhibition in Sydney.
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![ART AT HEART: Joanna Logue at her Essington Park studio. Her Heartland exhibition will be at King Street Gallery until August 12. ART AT HEART: Joanna Logue at her Essington Park studio. Her Heartland exhibition will be at King Street Gallery until August 12.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/7PapGKjYPrPEgYfvAPt3Wq/ad489758-2493-4912-9443-ecb64c39d127.jpeg/r0_105_1280_825_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ms Logue has had a change of location after moving to Mount Desert Island at the foot of Acadia National Park, Maine, which is the northernmost state in the United States.
Ms Logue moved there in January 2017 to be with her husband Martin Pera, who's a leading stem cell researcher with interests in neuroscience and regenerative medicine.
Mr Pera studied at the University of Melbourne but has been appointed professor at biomedical research institution The Jackson Laboratory in Maine.
Ms Logue said the day they moved in it was -17 degrees Celsius and was blowing a blizzard.
"Most mornings a snow plough has to come and clear roads and surrounding villages," she said.
Ms Logue said her marrying Mr Pera was like a fairytale.
"Martin was a collector of my work for many years. He contacted my studio and asked to visit when he was in Australia,” she said.
"We met and had a connection straight away. Science and art - there's a parallel. In my work there's no right or no wrong and Martin's work is based on formulas. Both worlds have a certain amount of uncertainty.
"We had a long distance relationship but decided to move to Maine when Martin was to head up stem cell research at Jackson University."
Ms Logue's art is multi-layered and is inspired by the landscape surrounding her home and studio in Oberon.
The paintings have been described as an insightful and personal response to the ephemeral nature of her surroundings.
"Now I'm living at the foot of a national park, you can imagine the inspiration I get when it's springtime. It's an explosion of green and foilage - so different to Australia,” she said.
"My art will occur through my heart to hand and I will be looking at birches, conifers, snow, shapes, palettes and my vision will change.
"Most people don't live in Maine all year round - they live in Boston or Manhattan. But in summer, Americans flock to national parks for their vacations to enjoy the great outdoors.
"Australian cultures are built on landscapes. There are not many landscape artists in America.
"My studio in Maine will be finished soon. My goal is to have an exhibition in New York.
"I have not left Essington, I've just expanded my world whilst supporting Martin."
Ms Logue's exhibition Heartland will run to August 12 at King Street Gallery, 177 William Street, Darlinghurst.