WHISKEY LAKE

Posted on September 23, 2019 by splashingpaint

We had a great workshop with Main Street art Centre in Lake Zurich. David R Becker was kind enough to lend us his fantastic studio in McHenry. Frankie Johnson organised everything and really looked after us.

After the workshop we headed up to Sudbury in Canada to catch up with my brother, Wayne, and his family. They have a camp on Whiskey Lake, so we spent some time there exploring the lake and walking through the woods in search of Bear and Moose.

David R Becker’s Studio, McHenry

Old Sudbury Hospital with a new coat of paint.

Sudbury Rib Fest where they cook or smoke anything for fame and fortune.

It was all too much for some

Massey General Store

Pond on the road to Whiskey Lake

Falls at Whiskey Lake

The Woods full of Maples, Cedars, Birches, Oaks and Pines

Wayne and Monique’s Camp on Whiskey Lake

Mountain Ash Berries

Woods around the Camp

Old Log Cabin on Whiskey Lake

Old log outhouse leaning to the left

Old iron outhouse leaning further to the left

Dinner at the camp with Wayne and Monique

Off across the lake in Monique’s dingy

Last of the old trapper’s cabins on Whiskey Lake

Blueberry Island

Through the trees to Whitefish Lake

Dingys stored on Whitefish Lake

Small spotted frog

This was the only Moose we saw

Except for this one, which didn’t look too healthy

Old Lake boat – Killarney

Killarney General Store

Killarney Lighthouse

Three Balancing Turtles

ROCKS AND BOABS

Posted on June 16, 2019 by splashingpaint

Our Outback Workshop moved from Kakadu/Litchfield, over to Kununurra via Katherine. Moving across the boarder into Western Australia brings a change in the landscape from speargrass savannah to rocky outcrops and giant Boab trees. The landscape was unusually dry for this time of year. Normally creeks are full, waterfalls are flowing and the landscape is greener but, unfortunately, the last wet season was almost non existent.

Spectacular, close up view of Katherine Gorge

Kununurra sunset changes the landscape completely

Couldn’t resist painting this old Studebaker truck at El Questro Station

Rock Wallaby keeps watch over Chamberlain Gorge

Chamberlain Gorge

Distorted landscape around Lake Argyle

After the Outback Workshop finished, Dianne and I collected our truck we had stored in Kununurra and headed of down the Gibb River Road via Wyndham and Parry Lagoon

Bell Gorge – one of the many waterholes along the Gibb River Road

Water Monitor – Bell Gorge

At the end of the Gibb River Road is the Napier Range. A spectacular band of twisted Limestone running East West across the Southern Kimberley. We spent a few days camped under the range painting, walking, sketching and photographing

Bee hive in a cave in the Napier Range

Outside Studio

An amazing place to paint and explore

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.

ALBERTA SNOW

Posted on September 15, 2014 by splashingpaint

Right now in Canada trees should be turning brilliant colors, temperatures should be starting to fall and preparations for winter should be just around the corner. We arrived in brilliant sunshine, enjoyed that for a couple of days then woke up to a huge dump of out of season September snow. Overnight temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees, roads were closed, power supplies were interrupted and tree limbs littered the streets – inconvenient for the local residents but an amazing site for us.

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Twisted foothills of the Rocky Mountains

Elbow River

These guys are the double decker bus version of a domestic cow

Wyeth like.

Warm fire on a cold night at Lyla and John’s

Small lake in the mountains above Banff

Mountain Goats learning to eat rocks

Driving through the snow covered prairies north of Calgary was a fantastic sight – soft, bleak and grey.

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Canadian optimism – Solar powered stop sign

Badlands

Winter wood

Kila

MALDON AND THE MOUNTAINS

Posted on December 9, 2012 by splashingpaint

With 5 days up our sleeve before the Maldon Workshop started we decided to slowly plod our way down to Victoria via backroads and out of the way places rather than race down the highway.

We camped behind the pub in the little town of Goolma, where the publican spun us a great tale about his favourite dog staring down a possum – neither would give in and they both died without ever moving.

This is the possum

…and this is the dog

Foggy morning behind the pub

We wound our way down onto the Murray River before heading across to Maldon. Great to see the river with so much water and the country in such good condition.

Julienne, the workshop coordinator in Maldon, arranged for us to stay in this fantastic little farm house – complete with chooks and a veggie garden.

Maldon is a beautiful little town protected by a heritage listing to preserve the unchanged character of the place.

The 5 day workshop was a lot of fun. We met some fantastic people and really enjoyed the quiet little country town.

Melbourne was in the middle of the Spanish Festival in Brunswick and the Polish Festival in the City, so there was a lot happening.

After a few days in Melbourne we took off towards the Snowy Mountains via the Sale Wetlands…

…a spectacular series of swamps, creeks and billabongs just out of town – made even more dramatic by the approaching storm clouds.

From Sale we drove up towards the Snowy River and took the long windy track down to McKillop Bridge.

The mountains were magnificent and the road signs basic.

MacKillop Bridge across the Snowy River. First built in 1935 and washed away a few days before it was due to open.

Mmmm – Jindabyne Steak, 4 minutes each side, Yum.

Above Charlotte Pass there were still patches of snow on the ground.

Snow Gums

Thredbo River

Platypus in one of the small creeks.

Stormy night up near Kiandra

Creek on the Long Plain Road

Home via Washpool NP.

CHATEAU DE LA FLEUNIE

Posted on November 1, 2011 by splashingpaint

After our stay in Aix en Provence we boarded a coach and made our way through the French country side to Chateau de la Fluenie. The Chateau was built in the 1300’s and extended in the 1600’s. It is a beautiful old building set on manicured, spacious grounds just outside the small village of Condat in the Dordogne

The main dining room

After a hard days painting it was nice to relax and enjoy drinks on the terrace as the sun went down.

We were fortunate to have access to a large conference room,should the weather turn bad. Fortunately we had only one foggy morning where staying indoors made painting a lot more comfortable.

The Chateau had its own heard of deer and a collection of very small goats.

Further down the paddock were a pair of friendly pigs

The small village of Condat, just down the road from La Fleunie, was a great place to paint. There was a bar, coffee shop and restaurant in the village, so we were well looked after.

Lunch in Condat

Butterfly disguised as dandelion.

Hand hewn timber in the roof of an ancient Condat farm building.

Trees in the region were getting ready to loose their leaves – some were bare, some where still green and some had fantastic colors.

We visited the medieval town of Sarlat – beautiful old buildings, markets, shops and restaurants, plus a wealth of painting subjects. A great place to spend the day.

Behind the Cathedral we found a quiet spot with a great view of one of the towns Medieval houses.

La Roque-Gageac was another medieval town tucked under a cliff on the bend of the Dordogne River. It seemed a strange location for a town, but looked spectacular reflected in the water. We spent most of the day painting there, then went to visit the Lascaux Caves. No photos due to copyright restrictions according to our guide?!

After the workshop we traveled to Bordeaux airport where everyone headed off in different directions.

Dianne and I stayed a couple of days in Bordeaux and after the luxurious accommodation we were used to, the view from our room came as a bit of a shock.

Bordeaux has some beautiful buildings, but not far from where we stayed was the building below. It must be the ugliest building in France, built from checker plate metal, freeway crash barriers and funny little windows.

Bordeaux fruit stand

SNAPPY GUMS

Posted on October 5, 2009 by splashingpaint

Eucalyptus leucophloia

All across the Pilbra grows a small twisted eucalypt known as Snappy Gum. So called because the dead branches snap cleanly across the grain when cracked across a rock or log. This makes them ideal for fire wood. The young trees are smooth and graceful, but as they age, develop into fantastic, knotted,twisted shapes. They are great fun to photograph, particularly with a 10mm lens. Here are some of my favorites.

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Splashing Paint

Paintings, photograph's and thoughts of a wandering artist

Category Archives: Trees

WHISKEY LAKE

ROCKS AND BOABS

CAMBODIA

ALBERTA SNOW

MALDON AND THE MOUNTAINS

CHATEAU DE LA FLEUNIE

SNAPPY GUMS

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