Status of Original Painting – For Sale

All prices are in Canadian dollars

Size: 13.25 x 20  inches

Price: Inquire

Medium: Watercolour on 300 lb Arches

Description:

In January it looked like THE news story of 2020 would be the wildfires burning all over Australia. We saw dreadful and heart-wrenching scenes of people fleeing their homes and into the ocean to escape the flames and smoke. But no, the fires are extinguished and the destruction left behind has largely been forgotten by the news media and people outside Australia, due to the impact of the global pandemic and lockdowns.

The dual hit to Australia, and that it is one of my favorite countries, is why an Australian scene was the obvious choice for my next painting to celebrate international places during the pandemic.  This pair of limestone sea stacks are part of a larger collection called the Twelve Apostles, and they are a four hour drive (or a quick helicopter ride) from Melbourne. I chose to paint just the two of them, and as I did so, I wondered if they each have names? Apparently not. Curiously, there never were twelve of them but only eight, of which seven remain standing. The one that fell collapsed in 2005 after being hit by a tall wave.

It was a gorgeous day back in 2008 when I visited there during a mini-sabbatical, and I’ve tried to capture it exactly. This was quick to finish compared to the last two paintings (“We’ll Always Have Paris” and “Ciao, Venezia!“), since it was far less complex or detailed. In fact it took probably 8 or 10 hours spread out over five days, whereas most paintings require in the range of 30 to 40 hours over several weeks.

This isn’t my first painting of Australia. The first was “Clearing in Point Lonsdale,” which I painted in 2008 for my mentor and friend Dr. T. John “Jack” Martin. And the second was “Koala,” completed in 2017.

I was due to return twice to Australia this summer but the pandemic means that both trips have been cancelled…hopefully I’ll get there next year. In the meantime, we can enjoy the natural wonders of this earth while waiting for our lives to return to something closer to normal.