Lost Aussie on the loose

Posting Over at Vision and Verb

I'm posting over at Vision and Verb today - if you'd care to stop by and take a peek.

 

White on Blue

Lancelin, Western Australia

No, it's not creamy white icing atop a blue cake, this is a massive sand dune, towering above the Indian Ocean at Lancelin, Western Australia.  Absolutely magnificent.

Today I took a road trip to the Pinnacles  and as part of the trip I got to see someI Koala's, Kangaroos, Lobsters, walked in the desert and topped the day off with some high powered off roading 4-wheel driving and sand-boarding.

I'll post more pics tomorrow as my computer is having a bit of a nervy tonight ... but yeah,  I get out (now and then) ....  hehe!

Country Colour

There is really nothing like the colours of the Australian countryside - or  the "Bush" as we call it.

A place on earth resplendent with the brightest hues of blue in the skies,

the palest taupe as trunks of the massive and towering gum trees,

golden fields of grass that streak to lemon and green besides the lovely full dams,

not forgetting the rusty brown red of the earth

and clear indigo blue of the crystal clear creeks.

Nature's palette at it's very best.

I think this lovely poem says it all far more eloquently than I can  ....

THE COLOURS OF LIGHT

This is not easy to understand

For you that come from a distant land

Where all the COLOURS are low in pitch -

Deep purples, emeralds deep and rich,

Where autumn's flaming and summer's green -

Here is a beauty you have not seen.

 

All is pitched in a higher key,

Lilac, topaz, and ivory,

Palest jade-green and pale clear blue

Like aquamarines that the sun shines through,

Golds and silvers, we have at will -

Silver and gold on each plain and hill,

Silver-green of the myall leaves,

Tawny gold of the garnered sheaves,

Silver rivers that silent slide,

Golden sands by the water-side,

 

Golden wattle, and golden broom,

Silver stars of the rosewood bloom;

Amber sunshine, and smoke-blue shade:

Opal colours that glow and fade;

On the gold of the upland grass

Blue cloud-shadows that swiftly pass;

Wood-smoke blown in an azure mist;

Hills of tenuous amethyst. . .

 

Oft the colours are pitched so high

The deepest note is the cobalt sky;

We have to wait till the sunset comes

For shades that feel like the beat of drums -

Or like organ notes in their rise and fall -

Purple and orange and cardinal,

Or the peacock-green that turns soft and slow

To peacock-blue as the great stars show . . .

 

Sugar-gum boles flushed to peach-blow pink;

Blue-gums, tall at the clearing's brink;

Ivory pillars, their smooth fine slope

Dappled with delicate heliotrope;

Grey of the twisted mulga-roots;

Golden-bronze of the budding shoots;

Tints of the lichens that cling and spread,

Nile-green, primrose, and palest red . . .

 

Sheen of the bronze-wing; blue of the crane;

Fawn and pearl of the lyrebird's train;

Cream of the plover; grey of the dove -

These are the hues of the land I love.

  Dorothea MacKellar

(Photos taken at Beedelup Falls and Ballingup, Western Australia)

A Whale of a Time

After a trip cancellation earlier in the week due to bad weather, I finally got to take to the high seas and do a spot of Whale watching. 

It was a glorious day and we saw LOTS of whales.  Unfortunately I only had a 200mm lens on my camera but we were able to get quite close to these lovely creatures so there were a few decent snaps to be had.
The boat charter guy even put down a sonic listening microphone thingy, so we were able to hear them chattering amongst themselves.  How fabulous!!

Anyway, here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

Doing A Little Demo

If you are in the neighbourhood, I am going to be doing a Mixed Media demonstration using Golden's Digital Grounds at Jacksons in Joondalup.  I'll be talking about creating your own mixed media substrates and the use and application of the digital grounds for inkjet printing.

Here is the blub from Jacksons Facebook page!

 

From One Day to the Next

Same beach, different day.
It's cold and rainy again.  I hope the weather gets better by Tuesday as I have a little side-trip planned.

TodayI had a fun meet up with one of my Blog Pals today - the hugely talented Cindy Lane.  She is a pastel artist and calligrapher and teaches art classes here in the Northern Suburbs of Perth.

It's lovely to put a face to a friend I have corresponded with over the internet and even nicer to find her in my part of the world over here. We both have boys taking exams this week too, so lots in common and lots to talk about.  Turns out we probably bumped into each other some 20 years ago on a golf course and just did not know it.

Small world huh?

A Ray of Sunshine

After what seems like days of dreary cold and less than fabulous Aussie weather, the sun came out yesterday and I took to the beach like a a cricket on skates.  No-one else had the same good idea and I walked for an hour or so in blissful communion with the sand, sea and sky all to myself.

Maybe everyone else was off getting ready to visit with the Queen and drop a little curtsey (as one does - if one is well brought up!).

Ooh! Roos!

I've spent the past few days "down South" surprising my Mother with a quick visit.  It was lovely to spend time with her even if it was cold, rainy and not conducive to taking pictures.  Next visit I hope.

On my way back to Perth I stopped at Pinaroo to visit with the Kangaroos.  They were having quite the lazy time.  The joeys are all quite big now, barely fitting in the Mum's pouches, long legs and heads overflowing around the edges.  Not a bad way to ride while you can though.

These kangas' always seem so laid back and content and are not averse to you getting quite close with the camera lens.  Such lovely creatures.

Aussie Blue and Gold

Yes, I am finally here.  Already finding the unique colours of Australia with the lens of the camera.

Back soon with more.....

Like Minds

How is it that I am 6" shorter?

And I am not that short....

We stepped along the Highline and had cameras in concert.

Some things come unbidden

and they are perhaps the best.