TOWNS AND VILLAGES

Posted on September 16, 2016 by splashingpaint

The towns and villages of Puglia are similar in style to the villages of Northern Italy, but the earthier colored sandstone and marble is replaced by lighter, often whitewashed surfaces. The most obviously different architecture is found around the town of Alberobello in the Itria Valley.

Martina Franca – a labyrinth of pale marble and white walls.

Autobianchi

Main Square – Martina Franca

Dry stone walled and conical roofed Trulli buildings of the Itria Valley

Immaculate old Fiat.

Trulli houses, Alberobello.

Well worn stairs – Alberobello

Rain in Lecce

Lecce Piazza

Cruising the hills around Pisa in a Fiat 500 driven like a Ferrari – What a lot of fun.

Barga – back street bikers

Herbs and spices and a blue Vespa.

Retired Fiat Fire Truck

Down the mountain to Monterosso

PUGLIA, ITALY

Posted on September 7, 2016 by splashingpaint

Our workshop in Cinque Terre doesn’t start for 10 days, so we flew from Rome to Brindisi then caught a train along the east coast to Polignano where we met up with Amanda and Gordon for a week by the Adriatic.

I guess some people have trouble remembering which door to drive through and which door to walk through

Our balcony in Polignano – Balmy breezes, local meats and vegetables, Birra Moretti and Limoncello.

Polignano is built on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Adriatic

We were luck enough to coincide our visit with the Red Bull world Cliff Diving Championships. These towers are almost 30metres above the sea.

Competitors jump from the towers, perform a series of twists and somersaults to slow their decent, then land feet first in the water at over 80 kph.

Water entry can shatter bones and damage organs if not done correctly, so there were a lot more spectators than competitors.

Fishing Village just out of town

Small black snake catches a lizard

Cave opening to the sea 100 meters inland.

Polignano Cats

UP THE STRZELECKI

Posted on May 11, 2016 by splashingpaint

Leaving Arkaroola we headed north along the Strzelecki track. It skirts the Strzelecki, Simpson and Sturt’s Stony Deserts. Most of the track was in good condition, but very dusty, which didn’t bother us much, since there was no traffic.

North Mulga Station – a long way from everywhere!

Sturt’s Stony Desert

Santos manage to suck oil out of all this dry sand.

In 2010 this rig and all the others in the lower Strzelecki sat in 2 meters of water for the best part of 12 months. It’s hard to imagine that volume of water spread out over this incredibly flat land.

These cattle must live on dirt and rocks – there doesn’t seem to be anything else to eat.

We spent a night at Innaminka on Coopers Creek, then wound our way over a slow track full of bad corrugations, washouts and bull dust. This took us to Coongie Lakes – a strange sight after winding over desert sandhills. The lake is massive and supports all sorts of birdlife

Caspian Tern

Corellas

Pair of Grass Parrots

Serious looking Willy Wagtail

Dingos howled most nights but they are very cautious and hard to see. I managed to get a photo of this guy early one morning.

ARCHITECTURE

These are some of the best examples of bush architecture we encountered along the way.

Windorah – Once the old court house, now a comfortable abode

Dynevor Downs shearing shed – like much of western Queensland wild dogs have forced a change from sheep to cattle, so this once mighty shed is in decay.

Yowah Qld – Corrugated Iron Paradise

Beltana SA – What cant you do with corrugated iron?

Maree SA – simple but effective

Warrego Hwy – This old place has been added to and extended over the years – sadly, now abandoned and slowly disintegrating.

HOI AN

Posted on November 3, 2015 by splashingpaint

The old town of Hoi An stretches out along the Song Thu Bon River. A mixture of Chinese, French Colonial, Japanese and Vietnamese architecture give the ancient town an interesting character. The central markets run from before dawn till after dark. Every imaginable vegetable is available. Some weird cuts of meat, live ducks, chickens, fish, prawns and crabs are also for sale. Everything is fresh each day and the activity is mesmerising.
Old Japanese Bridge

Fresh Fish

Meat and Cigarettes

Boat Lady

River Sunrise

Vegie Market

For a few dollars this old lady will ferry you across the river.

Morning Fishermen

Boats along the River

Fresh Frogs

River Boatman (Hums Tom Waits Tunes)

Cast net Fisherman

Purple lanterns.

Cigarettes and Incense
Purple Lanterns and Bougainvillea
Fishing Fleet

Red Bridge cooking School where we cooked ourselves a feast and all became Vietnamese cooking experts.
Lunar Festival Dinner

Lunar Festival Paper Lanterns

Lunar festival

Wooden boats

Afternoon Market

Colored Lanterns.

NORTH TO KATHERINE

Posted on September 8, 2015 by splashingpaint

After the Blackall workshops we headed out through Western Queensland and up into the Northern Territory.

Interesting architecture – Kynuna, Western Queensland

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Ancient council caravan, seen better days.

Willie Mar’s Chinese Market Garden – Winton

We found ourselves in Katherine for the annual rodeo. The town was busy, but we were able to stay at the show ground where the rodeo was held, so we got to see all the practice and preparation before the events.

xNT__1566 Abandon swings outside the rodeo grounds

On the morning before the rodeo we were treated to an impressive hour of hard core polo practice.

QLD. WORKSHOPS

Posted on September 7, 2015 by splashingpaint

June, July and August have been busy months with workshops in Cairns, Gladstone and Blackall.

Cairns Art Escape is held annually in “The Tanks” – an amazing venue inside enormous old WW2 oil storage tanks converted to studio and performance spaces.

July we were in Gladstone at Gallery 67 for a 5 day workshop after which we reloaded the truck and headed out to Blackall for the annual artist retreat workshop.

Blackall – Artists Retreat

Local Blackall drover, Stu Benson, kept us entertained with stories of the area and spoiled us with tea and damper.

Old shearing shed at Dunera Station where we were made welcome and enjoyed smoko and an interesting walk around the property.

Louise and Lexie, who drove out from Currumbin for the workshop, took Dianne and I out to the property where Louise grew up. The old homestead is now abandoned and slowly decaying, it was great to look around at some of the relics remaining from when Louise was a little kid.

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Old Homestead

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Blackall Sunset
New Paint

Machinery – Blackall wool scour

We were lucky to be in Blackall for the Camerata of St John’s, Queensland Chamber Orchestra’s performance. It was fantastic – all young, enthusiastic and incredibly well rehearsed players touring through outback regions of Queensland to help raise money for drought relief.

SAN FRANCISCO

Posted on October 24, 2014 by splashingpaint

San Francisco was a busy couple of weeks – 10 workshop days and plenty of good restaurants, bars, shows and museums to see. Fantastic catching up with old friends and meeting new students from all over the US and beyond – a great couple of weeks.

Powell street cable car

Union Square

Bay Bridge

Fire Boat under the Bay Bridge

Red’s Java House

Jimi Hendrix’s Red House, Haight Street Haight Street power pole – staples accumulating since the 60’s.

Medicinal Dope – Haight Street

Skull Exhibition – San Francisco Academy of Science

Air Show over Alcatraz celebrating Fleet Week. Blue Angels – doing crazy things very fast.

The Stinking Rose – Garlic seasoned with food.

Under the Golden Gate Bridge.

USA16497 San Francisco is dotted with (mostly) immaculately kept Victorian architecture. Some awesome, but not so immaculate. How to squeeze more into a pickup truck than should really be possible. Jack’s Bar – Cannery building Fisherman’s Wharf.