A little spiritual reference there. Being in those forests can certainly be a spiritual experience. In any case, on the third day I created more art.

Under normal circumstances my brushes crave open landscape vistas. That sort of view wasn’t available near our camp. However, from a particular spot you could catch a glimpse of Mt Murchison.

That view became the subject of my next painting. Luckily too, on this day there was some fog and cloud about. It added a bit more atmosphere and mood. Something else I crave when I paint.

As you can see, I needed to set up in the middle of the road. The trees obscured what I could see of the peak if I moved even a small distance away. It wasn’t a problem though. We weren’t on a major highway here folks!

Having completed that one with time to spare before lunch, I fitted in this little 10cm square painting of a fern near the camp.

After lunch, I headed back to the Fern Village to paint another of the many compositions down there.

This view seemed to lead me into the distance nicely, so I concentrated on that. After all, these forests can lead you, mesmerised, deep into their lush greenery. You tend to ask yourself, “What visual treasure lurks around that corner, behind that tree, or over that rise?” And, in these forests, the treasures really are hidden until you are right upon them.

Bearing the hidden aspect in mind, imagine wandering within these forests at night. The night walks were fantastic. I went along every night. Here are three of the many photos I took. Note the fungi we found one night. The “cloud” on the right is spores being emitted in bursts. Amazing!