Where to go for the day’s painting sessions was our most important question. We decided on the old probation station at Saltwater River. Old buildings, farmland, and coastal views were the possibilities.

We made our way there, checking out other places on the way. At Premaydena, we stopped to snap some photos of the bay.

The old probation station area is now split up between several private properties and mostly not maintained, but we were able to paint this old building. It’s funny speculating, as you paint, about what it was used for, who may have been there and what life was like all those years ago. A pretty dim existence I think.

I’m not altogether satisfied with this painting. It’s too squashy, but I wanted to get close so I could get the detail. At least I can repaint it now.

Onward to our next location, which was at the community hall at the mouth of the Saltwater River. After lunch we made time for a quick painting session, before heading home.

The next day took us to Safety Cove, a lovely beach that looks out towards Tasman Island and Cape Pillar. This location seemed to suit my mood for the day. It’s something that can make a big difference when painting en plein air. One downside here though, was the lack of shade. Given how that can affect paint colour, I knew I had to be careful. I angled the easel to keep the panel and palette shaded and began to paint. (It needed moving several times during the painting.) Here’s the finished painting.

I think this is my favourite one of the trip, certainly so far at least. Things seemed to go well, which I think relates back to my mood “matching” the location. I was on a roll and there was a bit of time, so I did this quick one as well.

Before heading home we went to the other end of the beach to sketch. A thunder storm was rolling in, but we managed to do enough to satisfy our urge for just one more. This sketch is done using a fountain pen with Quink in it and water soluble coloured pencils.

On the last day, we had the morning to paint, so we headed just down from our accommodation, to the mouth of Cripps Creek and settled in for the morning. Here’s the result.

The rest of the day was spent travelling to Swansea, our next location. More to come on that part of the trip in another newsletter.

Since the last Studio News, I have been lucky enough to sell a large painting “Divergent” (above) and also to be given a Highly Commended Award for “Cirque.”

Two new 20cm square, ready to hang paintings were listed on Bluethumb during the month. “Jazzy” and “Forte” (shown below with links). They are part of a series of six.

If you’d like to see the other art I have listed for sale, please go to Bluethumb.

You can also keep up with what I’m up to on Instagram and Facebook. Currently, I’ve been exploring collage as part of the 100 Day Project. There’s always more art to be made.