I find drawing power poles fascinating, here in Western Australia the local Eucalyptus hard wood (Jarrah – Eucalyptus marginata and occasionally Karri or Marri) is used for the long, straight poles, each one is unique with whorls and slight kinks along its length. They’re often treated with anti-termite solution so have a greenish tinge. This one is in South Terrace, South Fremantle, but they’re everywhere if you look out for them…except the suburbs that have moved to underground power!
Spent a pleasant morning out painting with the Plein Air Painters Perth at the lovely Somerville Auditorium. This is a gorgeous outdoor theatre set in the University of Western Australia (UWA) grounds. This area of the university is also known as the “cathedral of pines” because of the huge Norfolk pine trees that were planted by William Somerville to create an open air venue sometime after 1927.
The Somerville is home to Perth’s International Film Festival with nightly showings after sunset in the summer months, the public gather to eat picnics on the grass surrounded by the massive trees before settling down in deckchairs at sunset to watch the film.
On my bike ride into the city there was a yacht race on the Swan river just outside of Elizabeth Quay….the city makes a great back-drop for the race.
Another coconut palm sketch….I find coconut trees fascinating for some reason … maybe hoping to see the magical moment when one coconut lets go of the mother tree and gravity takes over sending it down with a thud. (I am careful not to sit under another coconut when sketching!)
Lots of water to time today….had a crack at stand-up paddle boarding (successful) windsurfing (less successful) and sailing a ‘laser’ dingy (mostly successful – only capsized once).
View from the balcony…. Lots of coconut palms, large fronds giving shade and shades of lush green. Brightly coloured birds sing and flit between the trees…. sketched just before sunset.
This is a little “mud” – map of our travels around part of Western Australia.
The red lettering on the right side really is written with mud – red dirt – from a puddle on our campsite – genuine Pilbara red ochre!
The below sketches are from various bays in the Ningaloo Marine Park – Turquoise Bay and Oyster Stacks which we snorkeled in, saw lots of fish (fishing is banned throughout most of the park), turtles, clams….lots of coral and shells.
Have you ever seen a starfish this blue? I had to include the photo to prove its amazing cobalt blue colour……we all thought it was a toy plastic starfish at first….but no it was real and alive and we saw several more when out snorkelling!
The below pictures are looking up to the top of Circular Pool in Karijini gorge, there is a white gum tree clinging on to the very top edge of the red rocks. This painting is an example of why sketching on location produces a much better record of a place than a photo….the contrast of light was too great for my camera (Canon G16) to handle (and I suspect most cameras) even after adjusting the aperture, neutral density filter, ISO, Speed etc. Most of my photos are very under or over exposed because of the extreme contrasts. But sketching on site you can observe the real colours and your eyes compensate for the bright sunny sky and the dark shadows from the tall cliffs….sketching from a photo just wouldn’t be the same.
These are “Cosmo” flowers growing in part of the community veggie garden at Neil McDougall park. They are native to Mexico but have been planted widely across Australia as they are so pretty and easy to grow.
This is silver beet growing in a large polystyrene container with the words “Sea Harvest – produce of Seychelles” printed on the side….maybe that’s why the plants are growing so green and healthy.
Lamy Safari, EF nib, De Atramentis Archive Ink, various watercolours with waterbrushes.
Finally, a simple pen sketch of a very old and impressively knobbly gum tree with peeling bark hanging off its branches.
Sailor Fude Fountain Pen, De -Atramentis Archive Ink Black
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