Landscapes

In no particular order…

Sugarloaf Rock, Yallingup, Western Australia

All the photo and paintings in the world can't do this scene justice. Sugarloaf is based just south of our favourite holiday town Yallingup... where the swell of the Indian Ocean carves out the south western coastline of WA, where the sea breeze blows strong and fresh from Antarctica herself and where tourists can lose themselves in the majesty of nature. 

African Savannah

Every artist has to do at least one African scene in their lifetime…the colours of the savannah are just too tempting for to pass by. And as tempting as the black elephantine silhouettes against the bold red skies are, I wanted to break the mould a little bit; I'm really not one for stereotypes. 

And that decision worked out so much better than I could have imagined. I've actually left a lot of this painting up to your own imagination. What do you think…is it the dust of a thousand hooves stirred up in the early morning light? Or perhaps the haze of a bushfire that has so many animals on the move? 

Shipwrecked

This is a bit of a seasonal occurrence in my home town of Rockingham, Western Australia.

Each winter we get a couple of mammoth storms wash through and test the moorings of the boats of Cockburn Sound (I know, I know…it's pronounced ko-burn if it helps any). This was the final storm of the winter just gone; I raced down there with my camera and snapped a few pics.

Morning in the Mist 

Mark's Duckies

Water will always be somewhat hypnotising to artists. It's actually extremely difficult to capture in paint (as is glass)...because of its very nature, water is both translucent and reflective. Perhaps that's what draws us to it, what we find so fascinating about it.

I painted this one for my new baby nephew (now the big brother in his family) who had penchant for all things feathery. 

Under Water Cityscapes

This was a challenge purely for the sake of personal growth. While I can recreate any photo put in front of me, I struggle to create scenes from scratch. I set myself the challenge of creating a sub-marine city and what an epic journey it turned out to be. The first picture, with the whale, was one big series of experiments. Many of its best features were added as an afterthought in order to cover up my blunders. I learnt to let go of the image I'm picturing in my minds eye and let my instinct guide me. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. 

The bottom corner of a work in progress.

And the second painting, with the dolphins, had a little more planning. I wanted to try my hand with natural building materials and had learnt so much from the mistakes in my first painting that I had to have a do-over. The pair were sold as a set to a loving home. 

An Oceanscape

 I never really got around to finishing this one, though it seems finished for all that. I haven't even gotten around to naming it yet. It just feels to me like it's lacking something. I've just bumped it up on my To-Do-List…me thinks I'll start with some sea spray and work from there. 

Beacon Hill

Although it could be mistaken for many a European street, this is actually a little corner of Beacon Hill, Boston. 

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion 

Pavilion of the Far Reaching Fragrance in the grounds of Gyeongbukgong Palace, north of Seoul, South Korea. There are some beautiful interactive visuals if you want to click on this link.