Fooling around this summer, Take 2

From Sydney we flew to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. My idyllic image of diving there was shattered by cold temps, 25-30 knots of breeze and 6 foot waves. After an hour and a half trip to the outer reef aboard a large and comfortable dive boat with maybe 12 divers and 25 snorkelers, I would say a third were seasick (not us). The divers definitely had the better trip though. Dressed in double layer wetsuits, we were comfortable and the water below was calm. Highlights included giant clam shells that opened and closed for plankton, tons of fish, sharks, a very friendly sea turtle and a most unusual underwater landscape of coral, unlike anything we've seen in the Caribbean. A tour of the rainforest north of Port Douglas followed the next day. We had lunch at little place inside the rainforest with the best Baramundi (local fish) so far on the trip!

Divemasters gearing up with 6 foot seas

Rocking and rolling. See the pitch?

Cocodrile!

Kingfisher

Feed me!

Kangaroo with an attitude

Cassowary crossing

Fooling around this summer

Our son spent the past semester studying in Australia. In late June, my husband and I met him there, spent time in Sydney and Uluru, did some diving on the Great Barrier Reef and then flew to Bali with Ian for 5 days. It was the trip of a lifetime.

Below: Visit to the Gallery of New South Wales. Check out Australian artist, Tom Roberts who painted in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Amazing draftsman.

Drawing in the Gallery of New South Wales

Tom Roberts, Bailed Up

Tom Roberts, Darbin Creek

Tom Roberts, Breakaway

Picture highlights from Sydney:

Rainbow Lorikeets – urbanized and everywhere

Biggest bats I've ever seen – Botanical Gardens

Tuna, crack-of-dawn tour of the Sydney Fish Market, second largest in the world

Sydney harbor at dusk

Sydney Opera House

Ferries, Sydney Harbor

Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park

Finished Izzy

The finished image has maybe 8-10 layers of thinly applied paint. Dry to the touch.

Picking up where I left off

I admit it. I've been screwing off. Some traveling and some family time have filled up late June and July. Photos and sketchbook images to come but in the meantime, I will finish what I started.
Izzy take 4. The paintings were finished in early June.
Here you see the next layer, Permanent Rose over Chrome Yellow. Next will come various local color applications, followed by Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Blue before heading to the finish detail.

Permanent Rose over Chrome Yellow