BACK IN THE STUDIO

After 5 months away it’s good to get back in the studio and start painting. As much as I enjoy painting outdoors, I always feel the best work comes when conditions are under control and there is limitless time to consider things

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The first thing I did when I got back to the studio was pull out the last demonstration painting I did at the workshop in Pemberton. At the time I was wrestling with it and hurrying to get it finished. I just wanted to see where it would go with a little more time and less pressure.

I attacked it with a 1″ house painting brush full of gesso , leaving the central core of previously painted watercolor untouched. After the gesso dried, detail was added and blotted back with tissue.

The pigment sits on the surface of the gesso, so can be sprayed and blotted back similar to yupo paper. This produces the subtle effects seen in the detail above. It is an interesting, very controllable way to work and produces unusual results.

JAMIE NICOLAOU

I was fortunate to cross paths with Jamie Nicolaou while we were in Western Australia. Jamie is the son of  long time friends we stayed with near Manjimup. He has an amazing passion for photography, a great eye for a good shot and a humble attitude to his wealth of knowledge.

It was inspiring to go out with Jamie and watch as he shot a panorama of the family farm just as the light faded to dark. I then followed him through the process of turning it into the image you can see on his blog. The incredible thing about this image is that it’s resolution is high enough to produce a print measured in meters not centimeters!

Check out Jamie’s blog http://jamienicolaou.wordpress.com/

…and his website http://actionpics.com.au

Jamie Nicolaou – Photo by Tegan Studsor

IPHONE

After five months in the bottom of a dusty pocket, or sliding back and forth along the car dashboard, my old mobile phone finally decided to call it quits. Everyone said I needed an iPhone, so off I went to have a look. What an amazing machine! As well as all the normal things like telling you where you are or where your mates are or where the cheapest fuel is or where you left your car, it also has various apps that let you draw, paint and edit photos. That really got me in, so I had to have one.

Travel Lightly

Moroccan Architecture

Making these images is such a lot of fun I’ve decided to keep loading them into a separate blog.

iscratch

Have a look and let me know what you think.

HOME RUN

After 5 months traveling, there are mixed feelings about crossing the border into Queensland and winding our way over the mountains to home.

As much as we are looking forward to seeing friends and family, we will certainly miss the unpredictable lifestyle of exploring a new location every few days. After being out of the studio for almost half a year I’m really keen to get back in there and immerse myself in working on some larger paintings.

I will keep this blog going, updating with my day to day activities from the studio. Perhaps not as exciting as traveling to lots of interesting locations, but you can watch over my shoulder as I get all the accumulated ideas from five months on the road down onto canvas and paper.

Thanks to everyone following our travels, and thanks for the many comments. I hope you continue to enjoy posts from the studio until our next adventure in Italy next May.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Toyota Landcruiser 2008 wagon V8 Diesel
• Loaded Weight – (Car – 2750kg – Van 1360kg) Total 4110kg
• Distance traveled – 24,970kms
• Fuel used – 3,649 litres Diesel
• Fuel consumption approx. 14.6 litre/100km
• 3 tyres destroyed
• 1 shattered windscreen
• 1 cracked fuel tank

The only major problem we had with the car was 150 chocolate bullets scattered over the floor in 40+ degree heat. Not that they caused much damage once they were all located; just tasted funny coated in red dust. Buy smarties next time.

LOUTH HEADSTONE

Louth is a small farming settlement on the banks of the darling River in western New South Wales.

In Louth cemetery is the 126 year old grave of Mary Mathews. Every year at sunset, on the birthday of Mary Mathews, a beam of light strikes the headstone and shines directly on the door of the house she lived in.

TILPA PUB

From Broken Hill we took the road to Wilcannia then followed the Darling river to the little town of Tilpa. Tilpa pub doesn’t see too many visitors, mainly passing shearers and local farmers.

The pub walls are scrawled with names from the past 40 years (or whenever texta colors were invented) I stayed at the pub 25 years ago and it hasn’t changed a bit.

While we were there, discussion around the bar was centered on the pet sheep overdue for shearing. There was a shearer at the bar with a set of 12 volt clippers, so it was decided to shear the sheep then and there. Coaxed to the front of the ute by a handful of twisties, the poor old sheep was flipped over and shorn before she even knew what happened.

After all the excitement, another handful of twisties for being a well behaved sheep.

WILD WEATHER

Heading back across the flat land around Broken Hill we were buffeted by gusts of wind. As we continued willy willys began to form, sucking giant plumes of red dust into the air.

The following day as we headed east massive storms built up, dumping rain for miles around

The Dark backdrop of stormy sky made some interesting photos as shafts of sunlight broke through and illuminated the landscape.

STRANGE BIRDS

Calling this a flock of corellas is probably an understatement. More like a swarm, descending on one little lonely house on the border of South Australia and New South Wales. The cleanup must be a nightmare!

DESERT COUNTRY

 

Heading East out of Coober Pedy towards William Creek is some of the most desolate country imaginable.

The track crosses the Dingo Fence and passes through part of the Woomera Defence Area.

For a while there are only two things to look at. A huge blue sky and a dead flat absolutely featureless landscape.

The flatness soon gives way to sand ridge country. Dry salt lakes and claypans are dotted through this area

The old Ghan railway used to pass through here. Many of the old stone siding buildings are still standing. We also discovered that some of the discarded rusty railway spikes had found their way onto the track        …goodbye  tyre number three.

Weird creatures wander about at night…

…and airplanes do strange things as the sun goes down.

The Oodnadatta track ends at Maree where the track south takes you into the top of the Flinders Ranges. The ruins of Farina, once a thriving community, demonstrate just how hard this country can be.

WILLIAM CREEK PUB

Half way between Maree and Oodnadatta, on the southern edge of the Simpson Desert, is the William Creek Hotel. It was established in 1885 as a watering stop and provider of refreshing beverages for the original Ghan railway.

It is the closest pub to Lake Eyre, which normally doesn’t mean much, but this year the Lake filled with water and the pub was busier than it has ever been.

Entering through the front door is thirsty work if you stop to read all the business cards, student ID’s and numerous other items of social importance.

Once inside it is very hard to leave. Not just because of the excellent beer …

…the abundance of  fascinating literature covering the walls, ceiling  and any other vertical surface will keep you reading for hours!

A pub not to be missed if you are traveling the Oodnadatta track.