FLINDERS RANGES WORKSHOP

Posted on May 9, 2021 by splashingpaint

We left Arkaroola and headed down to Adelaide, exploring Wilpena, the southern Flinders and Burra, on the way. Our truck was parked in secure parking for the two weeks of the workshop. We spent a night in Adelaide, then we joined the painting group and travelled back up to Wilpena Pound Resort by coach for our first 5 days of the workshop.

The Flinders Ranges are a great place to paint – interesting buildings, spectacular gorges and a backdrop of magnificent purple mountains.

Here we painted the old Wilpena Station store where all the stations provisions were secured back in the 1800’s

This old door has been patched and repaired over the years, keeping the blacksmiths cottage secure for over a hundred years.

We painted the stony outcrops surrounding the Aroona Valley before going down into the Brachina Gorge to explore the rocks and pools

Brachina Gorge

We had two great indigenous guides to show us around the Brachina Gorge area. They took us to see these ancient rock engravings with all sorts of interesting details.

Leaving The Flinders, we moved on down to Burra, a beautiful little town with magnificent stone buildings built in the boom days of the towns copper mine in the 1800’s. We spent a few days in Burra exploring the area and painting.

Burra Main Street.

South Australia has a lot of old abandoned railway stations, some with old rolling stock, some with wheat silos and most of them built beautifully from local stone

One of our group has explored all the old abandoned stations in the lower Finders. He got permission from the owners of this beautiful old station for us to visit.

We spent a morning painting the old Farrell Flat Station.

Skillogalee Vineyard made a good painting destination. We sampled their wines, had a fabulous meal and painted in the vineyard garden – What a great day.

Lunch on the Skillogalee verandah.

Our last couple of days were spent in Hahndorf in the Adelaide hills. We visited The Cedars – the home and studio of Hans Heysen.

A beautiful studio with huge, frosted, south facing windows and a large open fireplace

We were lucky to have “The Two Marks” on board as we travelled around South Australia. Mark One , the driver, had a terrific knowledge of the area and kept us entertained and informed with some great stories. Mark Two, a local watercolourist and long time traveller through the region led us to some great painting locations we would have otherwise missed.

The passing vista of old abandoned buildings, big skies and bare rolling hills is unique to South Australia and is something that keeps drawing us back to this part of the country.

NORTH TO SCOTLAND

Posted on October 5, 2018 by splashingpaint

All Images © John Lovett 2018

Following our workshop in the South of England, Dianne and I hired a car and set off north to Scotland via Wales and the East coast of England. We set off in fine, sunny weather, but part way through Wales things turned damp and cool, gradually deteriorating to wet and cold as we headed North into Scotland. This change in the weather made walking unpleasant, but the dramatic skies, fog and wet landscape sure made for some great photographs.

Exmoor Ponies

Young Exmoor Pony

North West across the water.

Bottom of the hill – Robin Hood’s Bay

Whitby Abbey

Forgotten Hull – Boddin Point

Bayside Cottage

Boddin Point Fisherman’s Hut

Stonehaven Sunrise

Across the Moorings – Stonehaven

Along The Shorehead Road – Stonehaven

Dunnottar Castle

Last Drinks – Lovat Arms Hotel – Beauly

Blanket Clouds
Winding down the mountain

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan Castle

Small holes in the sky

Clearing

WARWICK CASTLE

Posted on September 6, 2018 by splashingpaint

The history of Warwick Castle stretches back over 1000 years. It has been restored and repaired over that time and today is in fine shape. Ongoing maintenance is funded solely by ticket sales, helped by an impressive range of entertainment. These photos are from the daily reenactment of the War of the Roses held on a field outside the castle wall.

LOWELL and BISBEE

Posted on June 16, 2018 by splashingpaint

Bisbee is a copper mining town that has, some how, flourished since the mine closed. The steep landscape and opulent architecture, from the boom days, make the town uniquely attractive. Lots of interesting pubs, bars and restaurants, and an atmosphere of 1960’s counter culture, have given Bisbee a whole new life.

Just outside of Bisbee is, what’s left of, the town of Lowell. In the 1950’s the mine pit was expanded to extract more copper and most of the town was consumed in the expansion. What is left (Eire Street) appears to have been frozen in time. Crumbling buildings, closed businesses, old cars, weeds and debris. A fantastic and confusing place.

Reflections in a junk shop window

Bisbee graffiti wall

Chainsaw on a roof

Rustys Snacks

Main Street Bisbee

Captivating display of ancient dentistry.

Bisbee mine head

Mine Site

Shell servo, Lowell

Cadillac from space

Outside Lowell Gym.

Welcome

ON TO TOMBSTONE

Posted on June 14, 2018 by splashingpaint

After the workshop at Tanque Verde Ranch, we picked up a hire car in Tucson and headed over to Tombstone. The old town is still pretty well intact, but relies heavily on tourism, so has a bit of a theme park air about it. Lots of cowboys, bar girls and guns, but the old historic locations are all well preserved and very interesting.

From Tombstone we drove out to a few old ghost towns and abandoned mining towns in the region. We discovered some great old buildings in various stages of decay.

Rain across the prairies between Tucson and Tombstone

Main street Tombstone

Cowboys on the boardwalk

Stage coach into town

Stage coach out of town.

Some local beer and wine in the Crystal Palace, followed by a mighty meal and a band that didn’t play cowboy songs – well not many anyway!

Beautiful old Hotel on mainstreet.

Well preserved backstreet cottage.

Not so well preserved facade from more recent times.

Slowly crumbling cottage in the old mining town of Gleeson.

One of the last surviving cottages in Gleeson.

Once a thriving business – now part of Gleeson’s collection of decaying buildings.

Remains of the old Gleeson Jail – no wardens, no prisoners but plenty of patriotic flags.

Well preserved store in the old town of Pearce

More – of I don’t know what?

CAMBODIA

Posted on October 26, 2017 by splashingpaint

After a great workshop in Vietnam, Dianne and I flew over to Siem Reap in Cambodia to see the Angkor temples and waterside villages on Tonle Sap lake. The Cambodian people are happy and friendly. The country is 97% Buddhist and many of the children, from poorer families, go into the monasteries to take pressure off the families.

We met Pau, who entered a monastery at eight years of age and is now in his early twenties. He enjoys the discipline of the monastery. He speaks good English and is studying education. His goal is to open a village school to improve the chances for young people to work and study.

Monastery accommodation is austere and simple.

Pau, happy with his life as a Monk.

Detail of intricate stone carving from Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat Temple

Stone gable carving Angkor Wat

Ta Phrom Temple – slowly being eaten by the jungle.

Thom Bayon Temple features large carved stone heads of Buddha and beautiful, intricate relief carvings of daily life back in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Temple monkey overcome with boredom

Temple monkey overcome with confusion

Temple monkey overcome with enlightenment.

Siem Reap petrol tanker – powered by a mechanical plough.

Fire pot vendor powered by a small motor scooter

Mattress vendor- powered by a small motorbike

With the luxury of a small truck, there is nothing you can’t carry.

From Siem Reap we travelled by tuk tuk down to Kampong Phluk – a village of stilt houses, some colorful, some old and thatched, built in the Tonle Sap Lake. It’s a fascinating village – life is lived entirely on the water. Kids grow up in boats and soon become skilled fishermen.

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