What's New: Australia

Wow, my Australian adventure was awesome!  

The 2 weeks went by so fast and the whole experience was even better than I had imagined.  Spring in Kapunda was magnificent, I've never seen such beautiful roses bursting out of gardens onto the sidewalks. There were "chooks" (chickens) running about and, yes, I saw some kangaroos too!

It was the perfect setting to get lost in painting. With guidance from Jacqueline Coates, I explored my love of color, mixing every shade of blue, green, red, yellow ... finding combinations that would jump from the canvas as I painted.  I was excited to use reference photos I brought from my hometown of Rockport, MA.  I love the beach and ocean and all of the bold bright colors of buoys, boats and fishing shacks.  This is an exciting new subject matter that has endless possibilities for me. 

I also enjoyed trying some new things ...  like gold leaf, water based oils, impasto with palette knife.  So fun!!

It was a wonderful trip and learning experience for me.

I must say though, it's great to be home :)

After a very long 30 hours of travel, I arrived in Adelaide, South Australia. Jac met me at the airport and took me around Adelaide to see the sights.  We enjoyed some time walking through the Art Gallery of South Australia where Jac pointed out some of the works from well-known Australian artists. We then made our way through the countryside to beautiful Kapunda in the Barossa.  Our first stop was at Salon Rouge Gallery which is where I'll be painting for the next week and a half.  

It's everything I expected ... an open and inviting space filled with gorgeous paintings. Just stepping inside makes you want to roll up your sleeves and create!!  Jac's works are truly inspirational and incredible motivation for me to work hard and get the most out of this experience.