The Road to Deloraine

Salamanca Market was cancelled as Saturday involved delivering an original painting and prints to Art as Mania Gallery in Deloraine, Tasmania in preparation for the upcoming annual Square Dancing Convention.  To avoid the ridiculous amount of roadworks on the Midlands Highway, the backroad through Bothwell was used.  Bothwell has a very cool café.  Despite only intending to spend money on a coffee and a date scone, I left with a table cloth, a throw rug and a pair of fingerless gloves!

Here are some photos of the door art of the Bothwell Café.

Bothwell Café.

I tried to do some urban sketching in Deloraine.  I attempted to draw the Deloraine Hotel but it was way too complicated for the short amount of time I had, so I gave up on it and crossed the street and then tried to draw the quaint library.

I was much happier with my 7 minutes of drawing the Deloraine Library.

I had to put the drawing aside to meet friends for coffee, drop off my art at the gallery and then visit the very nifty town of Latrobe.

A Deloraine Native Hen

Deloraine sculptures on the banks of the Meander River

This house is near to where I stayed in Deloraine overnight.  I thought it was abandoned, but no, there was smoke coming out of the chimney.

Lunch was had at a cool art café called The Crowded coffee Lounge in Latrobe.  It is spacious, adorned with stunning pastel framed artworks, has cool furniture with one table having a puzzle in progress and another with a stack of board games. Many art classes are delivered from this venue.

Photos taken of the back of the café. I really liked Latrobe and I want to return to further explore it.

For now, it is the road back to Hobart, Tasmania and back to work. 😦

Thanks for visiting.  May your travels be gentle and kind for you.

Finds & Gifts

A friend, who works in the Deja Vu Books shop across from Artefacts Inc Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre, while trimming a Banksia serrata, found an empty nest in it and thought I might like it as a drawing source.  Bird’s nests are stunning.  This bird used some Banksia leaves, feathers and seeded stems to build their home.

Another friend, while walking on the beach, found this intact little fellow and thought I might also like it for a drawing resource.  And they were correct!

Now I feel dizzy, my head is swimming with creative painting ideas!  How about you?  Have these images started sparking your creative juices?

Wishing you a great week. Cheers for now.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market March 23, 2019

I drove in darkness up the driveway to go to Salamanca Market but thankfully the days are still mild, even in the early hours of the morning.

It was a busy day for tote bags and pouches today. A couple from Washington, DC, USA, bought a small ‘Bunk beds’ print and a ‘Salamanca Fresh’ tote bag and a UK couple, a ‘The Three Amigos’ pouch and a “Salamanca Saturdays’ and ‘Scarlet Robins’ tote bag.

Bunk Beds

A lady, from Toronto, Canada, now living in Wisconsin, USA, purchased two A-5 size prints of ‘Bunk beds’.

A ‘Hanging Out’ print is making its way to Auckland, New Zealand. He was telling me that there is a north, south, west and east. I said that there is a north, south, west and east in most places (lol), but then he elaborated where the wealthier suburbs were and so on.

‘Hanging Out’ made its debut today. A little wombat thought the hammock was looking a little plain, so being a pro-active and industrious marsupial, went about decorating it. Now that it looks much better, and feeling sleepy after all that hard work, it settled down for a nap. I’ve added ‘Hanging out’ on my website: http://www.pjpaintings.com

A framed ‘White Faced Scops Owls’ is heading to Canberra, and a ‘Thunder’ print was purchased for two and a half year old, Jack.

A lady stopped by to tell me the happy story of ‘Glamour Girls’, hanging framed at her hairdresser’s in Ballarat, Victoria. She said it was such fun, looked so good and is just perfect for a business owned by three sisters.

Glamour Girls

The most popular print today is: Bunk beds

A thought to ponder: “To draw you must close your eyes and sing,” Pablo Picasso. I can’t say I do this. Maybe that’s why I don’t draw like Picasso??!

Take care and I hope that your upcoming week is great,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

P.S. I won’t be at Salamanca Market next Saturday because I’ll be delivering my Square Dancing original painting and prints to Art as Mania Gallery in Deloraine, Tasmania. Deloraine is hosting the 60th National Square Dancing Convention, April 5-7, 2019.

Allemande Red

Runnymede National Trust House

Runnymede National Trust House & Gardens hosted today’s Hobart urban sketching meet-up. It is a well maintained and protected house, built in the 1840s. It was Captain Charles Bayley and his family’s home for over 100 years. It was named after his favourite ship, Runnymede, and the house now promotes marine conservation.

The colonial marine villa was constructed for one of the first lawyers admitted to the Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land, Robert Pitcairn, who was a prominent campaigner against the transportation of convicts.  Runnymede also houses historic artworks and possessions of Tasmania’s first Anglican Bishop, Francis Nixon.

We found ourselves a spot on the lawn and viewed the house from the outside, so I will have to see the inside of the house and its artworks another time. This is the viewpoint I drew.

Runnymede

Firstly, I loosely sketched the house with a purple coloured watercolour pencil and then added Artline pen.

When I’m urban sketching, I rarely get to the painting part of the day, so I felt pleased that I actually finished a painting in one session and outdoors!

Runnymede March 17, 2019

After I returned home, I resumed working on my newest addition to my “Sleepyhead” series.

Untitled: Tasmanian Devil lounging in a hammock in the shade of an old gum tree.

Sleep peacefully everybody and thanks for stopping by.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market March 16, 2019

It’s dark now at 6 am but I can quite easily overlook that when the day that unfolds is warm and sunny with clear blue skies. (A squawking flock of Yellow-tailed black cockatoos just flew by my window.  I always feel privileged to see them.)

A young lady from Germany, living in Hobart, on Elizabeth Street, is studying Marine Biology at UTAS.  She purchased a small print of ‘Sea Life’.  A young man, from New Zealand, exploring Tasmania in a van, also purchased a print of a whale.  He chose ‘Suspended’.  He’s looking for work here and has secured some work just by striking up a conversation with somebody he didn’t know. They’ve offered him one day a week work at a distillery. Once you get your foot in the door, more work often follows.

Suspended

A young couple, with their very smiley baby, purchased ‘The Three Amigos’. He said that he really liked art, and was quite good too, when he was a child but then war came to Afghanistan. He became a refugee and ended up in this wonderful country. He came to Pontville in Tasmania.  Now he lives in Sydney and is a translator for refugees.  This is his second time in Tassie, this time with his family.

The Three Amigos

A man from Manchester, UK, now living in Sydney, was in the stall when somebody said that they liked my koalas.  I informed them that they weren’t koalas, rather wombats, that koalas have fluffier ears and a different shaped nose.  I also had to inform people that my birds were emus, not ostriches. As he left with his purchase, he said thanks for the ostriches and koala (‘Glamour Girls’ & ‘Sleepy head’). 🙂

A lady from West Hobart, who told me that she has been looking for a long time for something to hang up on the blank wall in her toilet room, was delighted with her ‘Beachside Chatter’ find.

Beachside Chatter

I was pleasantly surprised to have a visit from somebody who had done Liz Steel’s Palladian urban sketching course with me two years ago. It was really lovely to catch-up, albeit it was a short catch-up.  Her daughter’s moved to Tasmania.

Take care and I hope that your upcoming week is great,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

Prints, tote bags and pouches are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com 🙂

kunanyi rock art

No words are needed, I reckon.  The lichen and moss on kunanyi rocks are beautiful and quite literally, works of art.

Goodnight and wishing you beautiful dreams.

 

Lost World

I’ve been living in Hobart, Tasmania for about 22 years and have never walked one of the many Kunanyi (Mt Wellington) tracks.  I’ve taken visitors many times up to the top of the mountain and back down but haven’t explored the mountain beyond that, until now, and it was magical and awesome.  I was really keen to see Lost World as I have painted this scene with Tasmanian Tigers (Thylacines) integrated into the foreground.

Lost worlds

The walk started on Hunters Track, then along Old Hobartian Track and finally the Lost World Track, which was uphill, climbing over boulders all the way up.  Do not let the 45 minutes suggested time fool you, it is full on, constant rock climbing and took closer to 1.5 hours but well worth the effort, not to mention, fun clambering over rocks like a mountain goat (well not quite as nimble :-)).

While climbing over boulder after boulder, I couldn’t help think how much my brother and sister-in-law would enjoy this climb, the scenery along the way and the view.  Next time they visit, I won’t just take them to the top of the mountain.

Stepping over a fern

I spotted a bumble bee on one of the many healthy Banksia Marginata growing on the mountain

And then we entered the breath-taking Lost World.

Lost World, the rocks are a lot more angular than I painted them

The view from Lost World.

On our way out…

This was rock and tree was beautiful

It was an amazing day on the mountain, warm, windless and beauty everywhere.

Take care and thanks for visiting.

P.S. Prints of my Lost worlds painting are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com

A Wombat Procession

My “Sleepy head” series keeps growing as my imagination fires up.

This wombat thought their hammock was looking a little plain, so being the ingenious little fellows they are, some decorating has taken place.

Untitled

Untitled

Afternoon Siesta

I haven’t run out of ideas for more wombat scenes but ideas for titles for the paintings are running dry.  I’ve had “Hanging out for Christmas”, “Waiting for Santa”, “Afternoon Siesta”, “Sleepy head”, “Afternoon Nap” and “Bunk beds”.  If you could be so kind to provide some suggestions for wombats in hammock titles, it will be much appreciated.

Take care and may your sleeps be peaceful.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market March 2, 2019

Regardless of yesterday being the first day of autumn, Tasmania ignored that it was ‘autumn’ and put on the hottest March day ever recorded.  It got up to 39 degrees Celsius and I would venture to say that being under the blue roof of the Pj Paintings gazebo, it would have reached 40 degrees. It was a roasting hot day! Despite the temperature, a surprising amount of people ventured out and the market was really quite full of people before the temperature peaked in the afternoon.

A couple from the Netherlands, who had purchased two prints from Artefacts Gallery yesterday (‘Quilting Bee’ for a friend who is a quilter and ‘Richmond Bridge, Tasmania’ for themselves) purchased a ‘Story time’ print to give to a teacher in Netherlands, who loves reading to her students.

Another couple, visiting from Queensland, finding Hobart’s temperatures rather ‘cool’, purchased a ‘Salamanca Saturdays’ print.  A lady, who moved to Rose Bay, Hobart last year, from Queensland, to escape the heat, bought a ‘Meet Me at the Gate’ print.

A couple from Perth, who have been visiting Tasmania for 10 days, are going back home tomorrow with a ‘Weightless’ print.  They came to attend a wedding tonight.  There’s another couple in Tassie for the same reason, attending a wedding this afternoon.

Weightless

A young lady, from Hawaii, visiting friends on the mainland and holidaying with them in Tassie, purchased a ‘Lost Worlds’, which is my painting of Lost World Track on Mt Wellington/kunyani and the lost Tasmanian Tigers, and ‘All Ears’ print.  She hasn’t been directly affected by the volcano but the air quality has and she found the red night skies eerie.  Two sisters were also holidaying in Tassie, one lives in Melbourne and the other in New York, USA. They purchased a ‘Double Date IV’ and ‘Sleepy head’ print.  Another lady, from Scotland, visiting her sister that lives in Tassie, also bought a ‘Sleepy head’ print. She’s stopping in New Zealand on her way home, just because she’s always wanted to go to New Zealand.

Lost Worlds

A lady, who has two months off and then six months on the Carnival Cruise Ship working in the jewellery shop, bought ‘Sleepy head’ and ‘Tassie Christmas’. She came to know of my existence through a friend, who had given her a ‘Beachside Chatter’ print, which she has hanging in her cabin.

The day ended, with a young couple from Sydney, excited to see wombat pictures. They have a picture of a wombat, named Mr. Womby, hanging in their home.  They also have a wombat plush toy, named Arthur.  They bought ‘Sleepy head’ to take home.  I asked them what’s this one going to be called? They decided that this has to be a female wombat but couldn’t think of a name on the spot. They might read this post because I told them I write Salamanca Market updates.  If you have any suggestions for them, please share them in the comments.

Sleepy head

The most popular print today was ‘Sleepy head’.

A thought to ponder:  “The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.” ~Junot Diaz

Take care everyone,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

Pj Paintings’ prints, tote bags and pouches are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com