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Hello my fellow readers!

I must apologize for my absence and lack of posts. My excuse is that I have been busy busy busy and haven't found the time to paint in quite a while... and, without any paintings it's a bit hard to maintain a painters blog. That is why I have decided to alter Cerulean Blue. From this day forward it shall be my general travel/Australia blog. Dedications go to my brother Hunter with his Travel/Hobby blog which inspired me to start blogging again.
Cheers

What have I been up to in the last few months?
Well! to begin: I still work at the cafe I talked about in previous posts, V-Cafe; I still make Coffee on a regular basis; and I still don't know what I'm going to to will my self. I find it hard to commit to a decision regarding what I want to do for the rest of my life. Career wise at lest. I have struggled with this decision for quite a while. It is probably this struggle that caused me to put my engineering degree on hold, travel to Oz , and take some time off to figure it out. Well, it's been just over a year that i've taken 'off' and I am finally ready to get back 'on' but unfortunately I still find that decision, my career choice, no easier to decided. Maybe I just need more time? I have had a think and came to the conclusion that even though I may not know my direction I should at least get the ball rolling, build a little momentum and perhaps figure out where its going along the way.
This momentum comes from 'Australian Pacific College'. I have registered and payed for a 2 year course in Business Marketing and Management. A very broad subject but experience that well help me down the road, regardless of which path I take. I am very happy with my decision. Though not a career choice, it's a very reasonable 2 year stepping stone towards bigger and better things. Who knows where this may take me. I will keep you posted along my journey if you care to join me.

The Ocean Breathes Salty

It has been far too long since my last post. I have been working heaps training new staff and preparing them for another V-Cafe that will be opening in the city a few weeks from now. This is the painting I mentioned in my last post. I like it. The crashing wave came out a bit sub-par, but no worries. It takes a lot of practice to be able to witness the oceans waves, pick out their characteristics and effectively personify them on canvas. I really like to paint a few more seascapes in my spare time. Which! I will have more of once our cafe on Pitt St.(in the city) opens and I become AM supervisor at the Cafe here in the Northern Beaches. With warmer weather to come and me having more free time to enjoy, these next few months are looking quite promising. I look forward to soaking up the rays on the beach and painting the randomness I come across. A fellow friend/artist and I plan to go on painting adventures around Sydney--Mostly just to get lost and enjoy our days off.

Tomorrow I leave for the Hunter Vally!! I believe I mentioned it in a previous post but for those who don't know; I will be leaving tomorrow at 7am to spend a weekend in the Hunter Vally visiting various vineyards and cheeseries(is that what they're called?). I am quite excited! but can't be bothered packing yet. I have always been a last minuet packer. I will make sure to bring a camera and take lots of photographs from which I will paint many pictures and post them here, for you to view!
Until next time!

Muttonbird Island

The view from Muttonbird Island in Coffs Harbor on an overcast day. A lone fisherman enjoying the peace and quite along the island's rocky edge. I painted this yesterday along with another of the same scene. However, I still have a few things to work on with this other painting. It highlights the oceans power as a huge wave crashes against the peninsula near where the man is fishing. The only problem is that painting an exploding wave is pretty darn hard. I think I will let that painting dry, and go back over it with several layers to achieve that highly topographical, chunky, yet soft look a wave has as it BAM! hits a rock. haha i'm sure there is a word for that feature, a 'Blowhole' would be my closest description. Anywho, It will be up sometime this week.

Last week I worked 50 hours at my cafe and 7 at another cafe in Balgowhal. Talk about a busy week! This was only because someone quit without notice. Ideally I would like to work 35-40 hours a week, which is what I will be scheduled for from now on(as long as no one else quits out of the blue).

I will be heading up the the Hunter Vally for a weekend (October 2-3) with a group of travelers I haven't met on a 'Grape Excursion'. It is an organized event with a group of about 20 travelers. We will be heading up together on a bus that stops at several different vineyards for wine tasting and tours, spend the night at a nice hostel in the hills, and have the following day to muck around on our own. The Hunter valley is renown for its fertile soil and optimal growing conditions. We'll be able to sample the best wine in the region and purchase a at real Fair Dinkum price. As low as $3 a bottle(if you're lucky)!!

I am quite excited to get out and have a bit of fun with other travelers. I will be sure to take heaps of photos and sketches, and paint you all about it.

South Curl Curl

This is a view of South Curl Curl from a footpath just south of the beach. I painted this picture from a photo taken while Everett and I were walking to Manly via Queenscliff one sunny afternoon. I really enjoyed how the painting turned out. The darkness in the lower left corner does make it feel a bit bottom heavy but definitely gives the scene some depth. Peering out though the trees, you easily follow the mans gaze along the coast and out as far as the eye can see, where the ocean and sky converge to a hazy yet distinct horizon. It could probably do with a few less branches poking out from the sides. Definitely a painting I wouldn't mind trying again, this time on proper canvas. I've been making due with a strange canvas paper while Ive been out of $, but even that is running low. Luckily I received my first pay check just recently! Time to spend some money.

The Cafe is going well. I love my coworkers but hate the boss. Hmmm I hope she doesn't read this... I guess I wouldn't say that I hate her, its just the way she manages that gets me off. She can be quite bossy and frantic at inconvenient times, a real high strung women. Not the kind of attitude a manager in the hospitality industry should have. But hey, it's great experience and the pay is good(compared to what I made back home), so i'll make due.

I am still having trouble making up my mind. I have to decide whether or not I should (A) stay here and study out west in Perth, or (B) come back home and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family, work as a barista in my home town and start up University in the Spring. Or there is option C; Fly home for a few months then come back to Oz in February when school starts. I just can't make up my mind. Maybe I will go see a fortune teller. Maybe not. What is your opinion, my dearest reader? Option A, B, or C.

All Work and No Play is How Jack Saves Money

This is the same boat that was in the painting I did of the Harbor Bridge, composed from the sketches I made the day Everett and I went to Milsons point. Probably a month ago? In this painting I wanted to capture the freedom one gets from sailing so I exclude the Bridge and focused on the boat. I can remember now how envious I felt that day. Everett and I had just come from the crowded Saturday markets in The Rock's and were looking for refuge, someplace quiet (which is near impossible in Sydney). As this group slowly sailed by, I realized that they had found precisely what we were after. A piece of solitude in the heart of the city. I decided this would make an appropriate painting. But how could I portray this envious felling I had toward the group of sailors? In the painting I gave the city a fast, sloppy, dirty look to contrast the boats cool clan colors to achieve the same feeling I had back on Milsons point. I think I did alright. The painting brings me back to that moment however, It may just look like a boat to you.

Work is going well! This job supports me to the point that I don't ever have to buy food. Here is a typical day at work: I get up at 5 and bike to work, clocking in just before 6. Because I arrive so much earlier than anyone else, I usually have a chance to nibble a few bits and pieces for breakfast while setting up the cafe. I have a lunch break at noon accompanied by a free meal. And before leaving I usually take home a few sandwiches that didn't sell. The prefect for my dinner!(they would be thrown out anyway). I plan to live like this for the next few months until I have enough money saved to travel on. I still haven't decided weather or not I will get a student visa and stay another year or head home to see everyone. Its a tough decision. Luckily I have some time to debate.

Self Portrate

Its me! Everything went well with this painting except for the eyes. I wiped and restarted the eyes 3 or 4 times in an effort to get it right, but finally settled on not painting them all together. Instead I slapped a pair of sunnies over my sad looking eyeballs and called it good. I enjoy painting landscapes much more than people. Unfortunately the weather and my new job have been preventing me from going on painting missions around Sydney. Without the constant change of environment that comes with travel, I have begun to feel a lack of stimulation (to paint). But maybe I've just been busy. I think I have a few days off next week. Perhaps I'll mission to Palm Beach and paint something from Barrenjoey Head. We'll see.

I havn't done much apart from work and work related study lately. Sounds terrible, but it really hasn't been that bad. My hours in the day are spent at work in the cafe, attending barista school in the city, or at home eating at which time I read about coffee in online forums(A bit obsessive, I know!). It was just a few weeks ago that I realized how much I love the stuff. And not just at the drinking level. I really enjoy the science and technique behind it all, from pulling the espresso shot to steaming microfoamed milk. "How to make the perfect cuppa?" is the question I want to answer. Back home, Espresso coffee never seemed to be that big but out here, Wow!. Just about every restaurant in Australia is equipped with an espresso machine --you would have to look far and wide to find a place that served drip coffee. Down under, everyone loves espresso coffee, and from that spirals the world of a barista. It is our job to serve a better cup of coffee than the other cafes. Even if we use the same beans as them, it comes down to technique and style which varies from cafe to cafe and produces a difference you can taste in the coffee.

It's been a long week thinking about coffee but TGIF and the weekend is here! Tomorrow night I'll be heading to the Sydney Swans' last footy match with a good mate and a few cold ones!

Ben in Blue!

Well here we have it! Ben Cook in color! Painted with a mix of alizarin crimson and french ultramarine. I decided to stick to this one color and focus on tone, things were getting pretty messy with the last portrait painting I did. I found it quite difficult taking everything into consideration while painting someones face. Drawing with a pencil, value can be attained by simply pressing harder or softer, shading things in. Painting on the other hand, excluding hue, requires mixing appropriate portions of paint A and paint B to achieve a single tone, hopefully matching the tone of the area you wish to paint. For now, I will stick to one color while painting faces, see how I do, and add colors from there.

Tomorrow I will try painting myself from a black and white photograph I took a few months back. "A self portrait", you ask. I don't think it counts, even though it is a portrait of myself. Self portraits are more about what you see when you look at yourself in a mirror, what you look like to you. The painting I will be doing is more like a still life work. Looking at the photo, and painting. Its the difference between seeing a photo of someone, and actually seeing someone. I don't believe people really looked like they do in a photograph. A picture is worth 1000 words right? Could you be described in 1000 words?

Shipie's Blue Hour

Here we have a painting that was done from a photograph my friend, Francois Desard, took of me in Tasmania at Shipstern Bluff. We had to get up real early to catch the famous wave when all the right conditions applied. Two hours hiking time also had to be taken into consideration before we left which meant if things weren't just right, it would be a two hour hike back as well. We had been on this track many times prior, in search of the perfect wave, however this time we spent the majority of the trek in darkness and wouldn't be leaving empty handed. Arriving before the sun had risen above the ocean's horizon, we found ourselves speechless with what the morning light awakened. A naples glow from the submerged sun began to fill our atmosphere slowly giving the land its coarse definition. With each eager footstep, we familiarized ourselves to the rock as we maneuvered around boulders toward Shipie's point. Francois hung back to set up his camera while I had ventured on to bask in the power of the ocean. It was then, while I stared into the deep blue and out towards Bruny Island, that the photo was taken. I had a body board under my arm at the time but decided to paint the figure with a surf board because the short board's distinctive shape would be easier for the viewer to identify while keeping the theme much the same. A surfer and his wave.

Everett should be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean right about now, watching movies and being stuffed full of food during his 14 hour flight to Los Angeles. He just left this morning and I already miss him, we had some good times during the 6 weeks he spent out here. University will be starting for him shortly, which I'm sure will be exciting so he has a lot to look forward to. And I have a job now as a barista/smoothy maker for a Virgin Active Gym near where I live. With free coffee and gym membership, who could ask for more? Things are really looking up.

Under the Bridge and Over the Pond

Here is that second painting I promised you. The one from the day Everett and I ventured into to city. The majority of it was done about a week ago but I decided to let it dry before painting in the boat and calling it complete. There are a few characteristics I would like to change about this piece but I'm satisfied with it none the less. I'm not one to go back and change my old paintings when I suddenly spot something in them that doesn't fit. If you play with it too much you'll spend a great deal of time poking paint around and ruining your work only to realize that you preferred the way it originally looked. I also like to keep my original paintings the way they are as a record of my mishaps and triumphs. It will be interesting to look back years down the road and see everything I went through in finding my own style. If I were to paint this piece again(which I plan on doing!), I would definitely make the landmass that's protruding from the right side of the picture, much smaller and insignificant. The buildings in the background could use a little tinkering with, but that's something I can try on a different piece. When I get a job and earn a bit of money I think I'll work on repainting some of my favorite pieces, this included, larger on stretched canvas. They would be much more marketable and wouldn't require expensive framing.

5 more days until Everett fly's home. Where has the time gone? We are hoping for good weather for the next few days but the reporter is not too optimistic. We might just have to buy an umbrella. One of the items on our list of things still to do is a tour of Sydney's Opera Theater. This can be a little pricey but I hear it's well worth it. A boat tour around the harbor would also be nice, maybe followed by lunch in the revolving restaurant on the Sydney Tower! We'll see where the days take us.

Northern Beaches

Sorry, no picture this time. I have been working on several paintings at the same time in different stages but I don't have a complete one to post just yet. Soon though. These ones are really coming along and will be well worth the wait.

Yesterday was the first beautiful day we've had in a while. Save for a few puff little clouds, the sky was big, blue and full of sun shine. Everett and I took advantage of the weather and spent our afternoon along the coast of Sydney's Northern Beaches not far from where we live. We caught a bus to South Curl Curl and enjoyed a casual stroll along the beaches and cliff faces that lined our route. We finished up in Manly just as the sun was tucking behind buildings and shops. It felt a bit surreal. Coming from western United States, the few ocean sunsets I'd seen always set over the ocean. However, out here on the east coast of Australia it's the opposite. It tends to throw off my internal compass a bit. As the shadows from Manly slowly extinguished the last few sunny spots of sand, we decided to call it a day. We caught a bus home and had a nice big bowl of pasta for dinner. A great way to end a perfect day.

A Morning in The Rocks

Yesterday Everett and I took a trip into the city to check out the saturday markets in The Rocks. We had a lovely day tasting different homemade foods and buying a few locally handcrafted souvenirs. Later that afternoon we walked across the Harbor Bridge to Milsons Point where we relaxed on a bench near the water and gazed at the wondrous city of Sydney. It wasn't the comfiest of benches however we had the most amazing view. Before us was the bridge, opera house and city catching the suns light as it poked through the clouds. In an effort to chapter the beauty of it all, I quickly sketched two little scenes. My first being the vauntcourier to the painting attached of Sydney's famous opera theater, and the second.... well,I guess you will just have to wait and see. It was a quick train ride from there to Chatswood followed by a bus ride home. The end to a perfect day.

Today was a great day as well. The sun came out for the better part of the morning, allowing our bushwalk with my friend Jacenta and her son to be most pleasing. I was amazed at the amount of bushland that's hidden throughout the suburbs of Sydney. It felt a bit like we were off the map, somewhere outback following an old bushfire trail, yet we were just an hour or so from the city center, and 15 minutes from home. There seams to be something new about the area to discover every day. At times I feel a bit like we are explorers. There are some many neat places that even other Sydneyers haven't heard about. I can see why some people live here their whole lives. Between the city, beaches, and bush you'd never get bored! Unfortunately Everett will only be here another couple of weeks. We'll make the best of it!

Simple Yet Satisfying

I am quite happy with how this last painting turned out. The pinks and yellows of the sunset caught in the clouds isn't shone in the photograph but on canvas its stunning. Though this scene is from a photograph of Russell Island taken several weeks ago I'm instantly taken back to the sunset sausage sizzle we had on the beach when I look at it. The mood of the evening was definitely captured in the warm glow of the setting sun on the land and water. This was achieved by undercoating the painting first with a thin layer of raw sienna. I will have to try this with my next couple of paintings and see what different effects I can get with other colors.
Expect to see more painting over the next few days. The weather forecast here in Sydney predicts lots of rain this week. Everett and I plan to focus on indoor activities. I hear the city has a great rock climbing gym.

Just A Couple of Boats

This is the painting I did in Brisbane of the boats. I am quite proud of the individual parts of this scene but disappointed with its composition. It was a really nice sight from a bench in Brissies Botanic gardens, but on canvas its just a painting of a couple boats. From the book I am reading I have learned that I need to find a way of portraying to the viewer what originally caught my eye in the scene. I need to find a way to place you in my shoes seeing the boats the way I saw them. Someday I hope to obtain this skill...

As our time on Russell Island passed, I began to grow more fond of the place. Our day off from hard work wwoofing shook the stubbornness out of my step allowing me to appreciate Russell for the first time. Unfortunately I had forgotten my camera charger back in Sydney so I wasn't able to photograph the beautiful sights we saw while kayaking through mangroves and around the islands. I decided a few little sketches would have to suffice in the cameras absence. Amongst the sketches were a few pretty good compositions that I was planing to paint later, however within the first couple of days after sketching I had forgotten much of the detail I intended to paint. Through this misfortune I learned that a scene wont stay fresh in your mind forever--which sounds a bit obvious,but... Quite frankly, I could always paint the scene from the picture I sketched, be it a week or a year prior. But its the glow, that initial attraction causing me to say, "I want to paint this!" that is soon forgotten. Losing track of this glow is what causes a nice maritime scene to come out just a couple of boats. Next time I'll have to take better notes to help freshen the scene in my mind or paint a little closed to the time of my sketches.

Everett and I have found ourselves back in Sydney after 3 weeks of traveling the coast. It was a short trip but quite a good one! The first thing on my agenda is to find a job because I now only have $17 in the bank. I have played around with the idea of selling my work at markets and putting it up in coffee shops but I'm not too sure at the moment. I have a feeling of shyness that I sure most Artists have felt before they sell their first piece and officially make their self known in the art world. But more so, I feel like most of my works so far have been an oil sketch or rough draft that I never get around to finalizing--A precursor with no sequel. Don't get me wrong though, I have learned heaps and improved from each painting I've done, but I don't feel like I have really completed one yet. Each could use a bit of this or a bit of that. Maybe I am just being hard on myself and maybe my paintings would sell. I guess when it comes down to it, I will never know what might turn out unless I take the chance. So, I guess we'll see.

There is no Hustel and Bustle on Russle

"Sketching is a means to satisfy the impulse for expression, just as whistling of bursting into song satisfies an inner urge for emotional release. How many times have you heard someone say, "i wish I could draw that," or "If only I could paint this scene?" Since he feels the beauty of the scene or object sufficiently to be articulate about it, why doesn't he do it? The difference between the artist and the layman lies not in intensity of emotional response but in understanding of the laws of beauty. The layman has a sort of abstract reaction, whereas the artist looking at the same scene reacts concretely. He organizes, or designs, his impression. Because he relates tonal values, lines, and color so as to create a composite effect, he can later recreate the scene from memory so accurately that the layman believes that the picture is a faithful reproduction of what he saw, too." -Arthur Black

I think I'm still a layman unfortunately. Lately i have been reading this great book on landscape sketching and have learned heaps! I think I will try sketching for a while focusing on composition and value before I tackle my next piece. It seams that lately i have been painting exactly what I see. I would like form a bit of a plan from now on, make several sketches and compose the piece well before the oils even come out.

Here on Russell Island the slogan is, "There is no hustle and bustle on Russell", but between you and me, there isn't much much of anything here. Sadly this island lakes beauty strange enough, but fortunately Everett and I will be kayaking around the many islands East of Brisbane tomorrow. Hopefully we find a bit of visual excitement on the open water away from the mangrove crowded island we now call home. I'll sketch you something beautiful, focusing mostly on value trend and composition. yeah!

Brissie!!

This is the beautiful view we had of Brisbane’s Victorian Bridge from a bench on Goodwill Bridge but I am somewhat frustrated with how it has turned out. It’s my tools that are getting to me! All I have with me are large brushes which have been working well for most of my paintings, however in this situation I could have really done with a few finely tipped ones to work in a bit of detail. There was also quite a lot happening in the scene and I’m afraid that in my attempt to simplify the picture I caused it to become a bit dull. Mostly it needs a good subject, perhaps a boat or two in the water and more or less emphasis and detail in the bridge/city area—depending on which I decide to be the subject. This is something I probably should have figured out before I started (Haha!). I plan to work more on it and will be sure to post an updated version of the painting when I feel it’s complete. Gosh! These city scenes are so frustrating with their enormous buildings equip with hundreds of tiny windows, roads running every which way and crowded waterways. Maybe I will stick to clouds and hills and faceless figures. On the contrary, I am proud of a painting I did yesterday at the Botanic Gardens. I painted a picture of a few boats in the warm sun but it will need a little playing with as well.

Everett and I went out tonight in search of a used bookstore. After an hour of searching the crowded streets of Brisbane’s CBD (these people never sleep!) we arrived at a lovely little back ally shop where I found an old book on landscape sketching and one on the basics of oil landscape paintings. I am hoping that by learning how to sketch properly, my trees might look more like trees and less like green blobs. Ah! I forgot to look for a small paintbrush while I was out!

Tomorrow we are checking out of Bunk Backpacker and making our way to Russell Island where we will be wwoofing for the next week or so. An Island! How cool is that! It’s has its own small community and I’m sure there will be heaps to paint. Our host, Dianne, sounds like a really nice woman but I’m mostly excited to just get out of the city. Fresh air!

Everett on Bello Lookout

Everything seemed to go well in this painting except for Everett's face. I can paint an alright face if occupies the entire frame, but these small people with there small heads are really hard to do! Eventually I gave up and drew a smiley face on Everett. It illustrates his mood well. This painting was originally a photo I took of Everett at the Bellingen lookout off Hill St. It portrays the beautiful weather we had shortly after our arrival. Unfortunately the sunshine didn't hang around long and bad weather forced us indoors. It was amidst the boredom of a lousy day that I decided to turn the photo into a painting--So some good came of the rain. I call it 'Bello Lookout', how original! It's my first landscape painting including a person, but defiantly not my last. I enjoy painting people and including figures in my work because it adds a bit of a story to the scene. Facial paintings are also on my mind and not the kind you would see at the fair. No, I mean paintings of faces. My friend Ben Cook from back home volunteered a photo of his beautifully bearded face for me to have go at painting. Hopefully he doesn't come out a Picasso, though i'm sure he wouldn't mind. Its all a part of the learning process. You have to start somewhere and Mr. Ben Cook will be my starting point. Thanks mate!

We'll be leaving Bellingen tomorrow and heading to Coff's Harbor. I'm sure there's heaps to do in harbor but we only have one day to explore before our train departs. It leaves the following day at 12:30 AM and arrives early in the morning. Tomorrow night will be spent trying to sleep aboard the Country Link with an early arrival in Brisbane! weee!

Wharf St. Bridge

Just finished the bridge painting I did in Bellingen. Funny enough, after fixing it up a little rodent of some sort managed to scurry across the surface when I wasn't looking. If you look closely you can see his little footprints in parts of it. I decided to leave them there to add a bit of character. Thankfully it came out alright in the end, unlike a painting I just did yesterday. It was a river scene but I painted it on an overcast day, which sadly caused my painting to look rather overcast and dull. I will have to go back to the river and see how everything looks with better weather then maybe I can try to salvage the original .
I am in the process of painting Everett on a hilltop overlooking Bellingen using a different technique. By painting many thin layers of oil I can achieve a lot of depth in the landscape behind him. I plan to work up to a thick painterly finish to complete it.

Well, we will be leaving Bellingen on the 7ths and heading to Brisbane by train. I'm hoping it will be a bit more tropic up in those parts and that we'll have a chance to swim in the ocean. Shortly after Brissy, we will head a few Km's south to WWOOF on Russel Island. The place sounds amazing! and i'm sure there will be plenty to paint.

Man on the Moon

Lately I have been quite obsessed with Kid Cudi. I just bought his new album, Man on the Moon: End of Days a few weeks ago and fell in love with it right away. I think the album was released late last year but i've been traveling around OZ since November and haven't really been keeping up with the American music industry. Anyways, I enjoyed it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I decided to paint its cover artwork. I really had a lot of fun painting Scott's face with vibrant colors apposed to the usual skin tones. It reminds me of stencil art you might see on the street but done over a rich florescent background. I think I will try this same style with photos of my own . I cant wait!

Everett and I met our WWOOF hosts today, an English chap and an Aussi lady living several Km's out of Bellingen in a place called Kalang. It was a thirty minuet drive through thick semi-tropic bush before we arrive at out new home. David and Jodie have a real beautiful piece of the land out here, secluded from the rest of the world with a cute little bush house nestled on a hillside. There's a lot of potential for painting out here. The view is unbelievable and there's a quiet river that cuts through the property that I plan to paint. and guess what! There isn't a bridge to obscure the view and ruin my painting! Unfortunately my vigor was put on the back burner soon after arrival because of the weather. Today was damp and overcast and the weatherman tells me to expect rain for the following few days. My next works will have to be composed indoors which will give me a chance to paint a few abstract Kid Cudi style paintings.

If you don't know what WWOOFing is, feel free to visit www.wwoof.com.au
I would highly recommend the wwoof organization to anyone interested in traveling. It's establish in most countries, free for members, and a great way to meet good people in unique places.

First Day in Bello

G'day
Everett and I are now in the lovely coastal town of Bellingen. It's a bit warmer here than Sydney but not by much. I nearly froze my fingers off this morning painting the Wharf St. Bridge. From my vantage point I had a beautiful view with light trickling across the water and highlighting the bridges ridged feature. Though it is winter, the gum trees were still full of color, which easily reflected off the rivers glassy surface with olive shades of silvery green--a strong contrast to the European trees of red and yellow. A bit of morning fog still lingered near the banks, hiding in the shadow of the trees and the Australian Great Dividing Range stood in the background like a sleeping Giant. The scene was simply amazing, yet sadly my painting was not. It still needs a bit of work. I don't think structures are my thing. Too many strait lines. I enjoy the free flow of clouds and waves with the occasional sail boat or two. Hey! that sounds like the painting from Manly Beach I whipped up before we left Sydney. What do you think? I might have to touch this one up as well. I'm sort of learning to paint waves as I go.

Well, Tomorrow Everett and I will be starting our first day WWOOFing together. How exciting.

And I will be sure to post the bridge painting as soon as I have finished it.

Take care.

First Blog

Hello,

This Journey started a few weeks ago in Jindabyne, NSW where I was first introduced to oil painting by the landscape artiest, Alan Grosvenor. The first lot of my paintings were done there in the Snowy Mountains with Alan. He gave me a few lessons on the importance of color mixing and composition, we painted a boat(left), and i was hooked! Eager for more, I spent the following two days in his studio slapping paint to canvas creating puddles of mud and the occasional work of art. I quickly learned to plan my attack prior to poking color around. Alan could tell that I was enjoying myself a little too much and that he wasn't getting his studio back anytime soon. So, in an attempt to liberate himself, Alan set me up with one of his old paint kits which contained everything I would need to destroy the world.

Since then I have Traveled to Sydney to meet my brother Everett who has come out to see the country. Tomorrow we will be heading north to Bellingen to WWOOF. I hear it's a lovely place. I will paint you the area when we get there.

Until then

Leighton