Back to watercolour

I haven’t been using watercolour for over a year - I started using gouache and oil paint before the pandemic - and it’s nice to start using it again. Admittedly I was a bit rusty but I had fun with the medium. Gum tree These were painted in Studley Park where I met some friends …

Pleinair painting in Organ Pipes National Park

The Organ Pipes National Park is only about 30 minutes drive from Melbourne. When I was there a few days ago, there were a few people visiting. The interesting pipe-shaped rocks were formed by lava a million years ago. If you are curious about this place, follow this link. It’s a fantastic place to visit …

Travelling light

I always have some art materials and a sketchbook with me when I go out, and over the years the combination of materials have changed. I only had a couple of pens and a waterbrush recently and I found it quite liberating. Simplicity is good - no colours or water to think about, no brushes …

St Vincent’s Gardens

Some plein air painting with friends some time ago. I never got around to posting these. I hope to paint these scenes again to see what has changed 😃.

Another plein air day in Itoshima, Japan

I have been lucky so far - it's rainy season but we still have some sunny days in between the wet days. When the sun shines, I usually try to take the opportunity to get out of the studio for a break, get some fresh air, lunch, shopping at the supermarket or coffee. Some trips …

Plein Air in Itoshima, Japan

I decided to take a break from studio work and went for a bike ride with my art materials. Here are a few sketches I managed to complete on location before the rain came. The sun was rather strong and I was able to find some shade here along the walkway. So I stayed here …

Lovely man in Suzenji

I met a lovely man in Shuzenji, Japan. I went to one of the outdoor foot baths and there was an elderly Japanese couple (perhaps about 85 years old) with their feet in the water - the old man skinny and lively, but the old lady was bent over. I joined them. The old man …

Izu Peninsula

Greetings from Japan! I have been here for a month, firstly walked around Izu Peninsula the first week, then a week in Nikko and Tokyo each. Now I am almost completing a week in Fukuoka. It's been wonderful - I love this country! Izu was extremely interesting - I walked along the coast and in …

Sketchbooks in my exhibition

I decided to include some sketchbooks from my travels in my exhibition last week. Anyone interested was allowed to look through the books. I have to say that it was very well received. I had a bit of hesitation initially, as I like some pages more than others, and there are some that I didn't …

Westgate Park

This is a park in Port Melbourne. There are several lakes and one of the lakes turn pink (below) when the weather is warm, due to the algae present in the water. These were painted in early 2019 - when the weather was warm in Australia.