Desert paintings

Deserts have always been my challenge. Their colours are so vivid as to make it unreal and yet it is difficult to conjure up a suitable palette especially since the sky is usually so dominantly blue. As Ochre is a master with colours, it makes sense to attempt a desert painting under her watch.


This first one was of Katherine Gorge which is a spectacular place in NT. I've eliminated blue altogether and used green as the complementary.


The second is of the view from Ubirr at Kakadu. In reality it is a lush green haven but this painting depicts it as at sunset when the colours are more mauve. I'm loving the Giacometti approach in drawing back into a painting.