It ain't modern art but

from w
These sketches just aren't modern art but seem to be in the popular category of 'pictureque' landscapes - one of boats at Queenscliff where the ferry leaves for Sorrento and the other Barwon Heads, the cafe near the two bridges. I like to do sketches like this occasionally on site, but I wouldn't hang them on my wall. The enjoyment is in the process, not the result.

Sketches of a river and beach

from w
Life here is very busy, not with getting ready for Christmas, just living in a large household, so there's very little opportunity to make pictures apart from Christmas kind of painting with the two boys to make a gallery from the front verandah. Here are some quick sketches when we were at the Barwon River estuary (where I gathered some seaweed) and another time at Anglesea.

One more rockpool painting

from w
This is the third sketch of the rockpools at Barwon Heads ocean beach, low tide - and some variations from the three pictures of rocks and pools. From the almost realistic to the fantastical!

Rockpools at Barwon Heads

from w
From quick sketches yesterday, I messed about with pen and paint, changing colours, adding dots and spots and then Picasa gave me a few variations, tending towards abstraction and rather distant from the original rockpools. I hardly saw any living creatures such as crabs, little fishes, shellfish. A few years ago people used to go to Barwon Heads back beach to collect a kind of shellfish that clung to the rocks. Fijians have a name for them, and they are very tough to cut off the rocks and very tough to eat!

A rainy day at the Bluff

from w
Though it was cloudy and threatening rain we decided to drive to the coast (about fifteen minutes away to Ocean Grove) eat fish and chips, then explore neighbouring Barwon Heads, ignore the caravan park and bridge area and climb down about 180 steps to the ocean beach. There were only about two people with their dogs on the wide beach that went for miles and miles. Peceli took a few photos, firstly from the Bluff area where the estuary comes into the sea, then later at an ocean beach. There are some more information and excellent photos of Barwon Heads here.