A Trip to South Australia

Hi Everyone,

Once again life has intervened and I haven't been in contact for awhile.

Have just been on a road trip through western N.S.W to South Australia.

The drought has really hit hard in both states and I saw some heartbreaking scenes.  

On the Barrier Highway in N.S.W there were numerous goats roaming the countryside.  I have never seen that many goats out there before and I was aghast at the thought of the environmental damage they are causing on an already stressed landscape.

Broken Hill is thriving because of the mining and I enjoyed visiting the art galleries there including the fabulous acrylic mural, The Big Picture at the Silver city Mint and Art Centre.  It was created by a single local artist Ando.

It's 100 metres long and 12 metres high and is quite beautiful to just look at and get a feel for the local landscape.

Also visited John Dyson's studio at Silverton and had a drink at the famous Silverton Hotel.

I feel so inspired when I'm in that area and found myself one morning sitting in a sandy creek bed sketching one of the beautiful River Red Gums that grow in the creek.

We travelled on to the Flinder's Ranges in South Australia. We've been there before but this time it was tragically dry.  The foothills were eaten down to bare dirt and we often saw the poor old emaciated kangaroos sitting under the small trees beside the road.  A Wedge tailed Eagle was still making a living out there and of course the Australian Ravens are ever present.  

Amazingly we did see a few birds along the dry creeks including a Red Capped Robin and amongst the rocks of some escarpments were the shy Yellow Footed Rock Wallabies which were a delight to see.

The mountains were still beautiful of course, cut by dry creek beds lined with magnificient River Red Gums.  It makes for an iconic Australian scene and many artists, including Hans Heysen have spent time out there painting the many landscapes.  

We then travelled onto Adelaide and Kangaroo Island before heading home.  

I came home inspired and anxious to get back into my studio.  I hope to have some new work on my website soon.

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