In between serving customers at Peppercorn Gallery in Richmond, I started drawing and painting a little wombat taking shelter from the rain under its raincoat.
The Queensland slogan “beautiful one day, perfect the next” did not hold true when we visited Mooloolaba, a coastal suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. We found ourselves some protection from the wind and rain at the Mooloolaba Wharf.
My view from one of the undercover sections of the wharf
sketched with rain blowing in the wind
Mooloolaba derives from the Aboriginal word mulu, meaning snapper fish, or mulla meaning Red-bellied Black Snake. I would have liked to have had a photo with this friendly Mooloolaba character but the wet bench and blustery weather wasn’t enticing enough.
Hastings Street, Noosa, in Queensland, is lined with shops, cafes, restaurants and galleries, with trees wrapped in fairy lights in the centre boulevards. This tree dwarfed the shops behind it. The leafy cover is wider than it is tall.
Hastings Street in Noosa.
This tree came complete with some Australian Brushturkeys scratching and foraging around its base.
One of the many Australian Brushturkeys making themselves at home on the streets of Noosa. We saw a young one too. A little cutie.
I hope that your day is going well where you are.
Cheers, from PJ Paintings
An Australian Brushturkey foraging on Hastings Street, Noosa.
On my first day in Noosa, Queensland, I walked the neighbourhood in search of a house to sketch. Most houses in this area are hidden behind tall fences! It took a while to find this house, which I sketched on location and partly inked (using the beautiful Fude pen Kim gifted me) before it started showering. Nothing like the threat of rain to help you develop speed-drawing! 🙂
A hard to find unfenced house in Noosa
My rendition of the un-fenced Noosa house. I focused on the lush greenery. The lighter tree at the front of the house is a frangipani.
I sat beside this very funky cactus with similar flowers to the frangipani to sketch the house across the street.
There are plenty of Pandanus Palms on the outside of fences. I like their sculptural root system.
Currawongs were knocking down and feeding on the Pandanus Palms’ fruit.
A spotted pawpaw tree
There are rainbow lorikeets in Tasmania but they seem to be plumper in Queensland.
Two of commonly sighted noisy Rainbow Lorikeets
and also often sighted; cute, small lizards
Living in these uncertain times, I treasure being able to go out, sketch and enjoy nature. I hope that the population in Ukraine, and everywhere around the world, will soon be able too.
It was a beautiful, blue-sky day for the entire market today. No wind! Yay!
My first visitors were two ladies from Sydney. They purchased three tote bags: “Hair Accessories”, “Double Date III” and “Salamanca Fresh”. Another lady purchased a Salamanca Fresh tote bag as a gift for her aunt.
“Rising Above It” I think that the word ‘unfurl’ that I wrote in circles makes such a nice pattern
Two sisters from Perth, WA, deliberated and deliberated until they settled on “Spanish Eyes (Red)” and “The Supremes” prints.
Spanish Eyes (Red)
Another set of sisters, but these were young children with their parents, purchased “Poppy Fields” and a whimsical Cup of Tea print.
A cup of Tea
A lady, visiting from Germany, purchased “Unwinding”. She is a biologist and studies frogs.
Unwinding
I met a Canadian at the market too. She’s visiting a sick girlfriend for six weeks. She bought a wombat print and a small original emu painting of two emus in a bright orange kitchen.
Time for me to pack my suitcase. I won’t be at the market for the next few weeks.
A Melbournian couple, visiting a family member living in Tasmania, purchased a “Bunk Beds” print.
Bunk Beds
I had an 11-year-old peruse the stall and then he went and got his family. He bought a “Silent Disco” print with his own money (I gave him a hefty discount).
Fairy Penguins enjoying a Silent Disco
A young couple from Sydney bought a “Lovebirds” print and another couple from Sydney purchased a small original sitting wombat painting. They also purchased a “Hanging Out” and “The Three Amigos” print. One is going to the UK. She hadn’t decided which one of the two she was going to keep.
The Three Amigos II
Another original painting of a wombat, this one with a flower, is heading to the Central Coast, NSW.
An original painting of Collingwood AFL emu supporters is going to New York, USA. I’m not sure if they picked up on the football theme. There were a lot of people in the stall when they were making the purchase and I didn’t realise that they were American until they told me it was going back to New York with them as they were leaving the stall.
Magpies
Somebody came into the stall and asked if I had any prints with a frog and were very happy to see “Kiss Me Please”. A lady who overheard this question said she’ll give it a try and asked if I had a print of a bat. Unfortunately, not. I can’t imagine that a painting of a bat would appeal to many people (lol). I’m glad that bats have fans though. Every animal is important.
Kiss Me Please
The new greeting card “Buddy Pals” went quickly along with prints, originals, tote bags and pouches. It was a hectic day and full-on trying to keep up with the restocking and serving customers.