DARWIN, KAKADU, KATHERINE

We arrived back in Darwin, put our vehicle into storage and met Amanda and Gordon, our tour guides, at the Mindil Beach Markets. After wandering  around and watching the sun set into the ocean, we all headed back into the city for dinner.

Monday, the 26 people that form our group got to know each other over drinks on the balmy veranda of the Holiday Inn.

Tuesday, our first painting day,  we headed down to Government House , spread ourselves out on the rolling lawns opposite, and filled in the morning painting under the shade of a banyan tree.

The afternoon was hot, so we found a shady spot opposite our hotel and painted the fringe of vegetation between us and the Arafura Sea

Off to Kakadu and three days at Cooinda Lodge, Our coach driver had a tremendous knowledge of the aboriginal people of the area, having lived and worked with them over the years, He took us around Nourlangie and filled us in on many of the aboriginal customs and beliefs.

Nourlangie

Whistling Ducks – Yellow Waters. Except for the fact that these guys are walking around, they are the most artificial looking animal I have ever seen. They don’t  like getting wet either, happy just to stand beside the water.

We watched this Croc cruise past our boat accompanied by a large Barramundi with a death wish.

Red Lillys – It may not look like it, but every bit is edible!

Pair of Jabiru (Male with dark eye)

Cruising Black Cockatoo – they fly slowly in formation like a flock of B52’s on a mission.

Wetland Waterlilies

In the afternoon heat, an old Akubra in front of our lodge was a more comfortable option for a painting subject. Just so things didn’t become too comfortable, we limited ourselves to just two colours.

Home Billabong at Cooinda Lodge was dotted with shady clearings looking across the water – great places to paint.

Home Billabong – Cooinda

If this little fellow hadn’t hopped, we would never have seen him

South Alligator River, meandering across the wetlands

Arnhemland Escarpment

Ranger Uranium Mine

South to Katherine

Gold rush architecture, Pine Creek NT

Another shady Banyan tree, this time in Katherine

Some transparent watercolor washes and a lot of pale Ultramarine Gouache made this demo a lot of fun.

Splashes of Alizarin, ink marks, charcoal pencil lines and fine rigger strokes suggest a lot of complicated detail without being too descriptive.