Lord Howe lagoon

In March I made a trip to Lord Howe Island accompanying my friend Coralie who spent part of her early childhood there. Plenty of sketches were made and the scenery was of paradise but as for painting, not one resulted. Until now....


This is a diptych of the lagoon from somewhere between old settlement and the jetty. The corals are delightful and I spent a few hours snorkelling. It truly is a gorgeous place. Also many locals came to talk to us after they found out that Coralie's dad was the famous and well liked radio operator during the war years.

Still life with warm palette

In a bid to find time for myself I went to Ochre Lawson's painting class. Life gets too busy and unfortunately art is the first casualty.


Ochre's class is to paint using non-representative palettes - colours that are not what you see. I love the idea but the few times I've attempted this I've met with mixed results.
Today's palette is warm reds, oranges and yellows. I'm quite pleased with the pumpkin - does it not look delectable?
I will try to find more time for art as (a) I'm happier after art (b) surely there's more to life than working and keeping house????

Boats

After a long time away from my easel I bought a set of paints for travelling. A trip to Lord Howe was planned and I needed to prepare. To test the palette I copied this boat scene from a book. And isn't it a great little picture? The colours and vibrant movement just catches the eye.



As for Lord Howe it was spectacular but I didn't paint as much - too busy enjoying the pristine waters and marine life. I did some sketches and now back at the studio have started a diptych. I will post this when I'm satisfied.... which hopefully will not be too long a wait

South coast

Summer is here although it alternately gets wet and chilly. I'm trying to get as much ocean swimming in as possible - between the rain and resulting pollution I'm not having much luck!


If I can't swim I can paint the beach. This one is in the south coast - where the beaches are both rocky and sandy. It's a magical part of the world.

Gordon's bay

Our Sydney coast is really very special with the sandstone cliffs awashed by the sea. Gordon's Bay is between Coogee and Clovelly - part of the great Bondi walk.


Here I have used palette knife techniques to render the cliff and waves. There's something exhilarating about standing on the edge looking at the pounding surf.

Summer hydrangeas

It's summer and the hydrangeas are lovely.


These ones came from my mother in law's garden which had to be reached through a very well locked door from her cellar. I know I will never get more than an impression of their beauty - so here it is.
On Christmas Day, mum in law came for lunch, saw this painting and loved it.  So she took it home for a Christmas present.  I seem to give away more paintings over time, it saves me the trouble of exhibiting and selling...

Excursion to Jervis Bay

After a longish hiatus I enrolled myself in a plein air workshop last weekend. It was run by the charming Alison Chiam, of Malaysian Chinese/ Scottish heritage. The workshop was held at Jervis Bay, about 2.5 hours away from Sydney.

The afternoon we left a thunderstorm with hail came down with great effect. The trip took us nearly 4 hours! The next day the weather was dismal - showers and a brisk wind made it rather wintry. Being a wuss I assumed that the workshop would be relocated to an indoor venue. Well, it wasn't and we ended up stuck mostly in a shelter at Picnic Point.




Rowen Matthews the art tutor is an academic and practising painter. His message is to paint expressively - in other words convey the feeling of the place. I'm sure he is right, at some level I know that paintings of places that I've loved always sold first. Being outside, despite the elements really helps. If only plein air weren't so uncomfortable. One is either too hot or too cold. The less equipment you bring the less you can achieve. The balance is a challenge. Despite the conditions I was happy with my first painting - it's a sandbank across the creek. I had to paint peeking out from the cracks of the shelter....



The next day the weather cleared. Hurray! The time we went to Greenfields Beach. I was encouraged to try palette knife painting as a quick way to get an impression down. These are small boards but perfect for field work.


This last one was of another creek. I was struck by the tea stained rocks in the creek. One can only see this in the shadows - the water reflected the sky perfectly in other places. I'm glad to have attended this workshop as it has now inspired me to get out and paint. I've finally bought a tube of retardant which I will be thankful for outside of rainy days.