My wife Ruth and I packed up our home in Sydney, rented out the house, and have been travelling now for six months.
We have explored South Eastern Australia, driving down the NSW and Victorian coasts, venturing up into the Victorian high country and then crossing over to Tasmania. Tasmania was a real highlight where we spent seven weeks exploring this magical southern isle. We drove over 11,000 kms on our three months in Australia.
In mid-February we flew to Siem Reap in Cambodia to explore Angkor Watt and visit our beloved long-term charity – Sala Bai Hotel School. Next we ventured to laid back Luang Probang and remote Ponsovan in Loas, before arriving in bustling Hanoi to start five weeks of exploration in Vietnam – Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An. I write this from Ho Chi Min City, our last Vietmanese destination before winging our way to Europe for an extended period.
Wherever we venture I am gathering reference material for my future art practice, sketching drawing and painting along the way. On our journey to date I have completed one full acrylic painting of Narooma on the South Coast of NSW, started another major oil painting of Tasmania’s south-west wilderness – which is now awaiting completion at the end of this long 18-month adventure overseas. It is however the charcoal drawings and landscape photography that have been the mainstay of my art practice over the past months.
I hope you enjoy the selection of my work displayed here.
Sapphire Coast, Narooma NSW, 2018, acrylic on board, 31 x 23 cm.
Old Snow Gum, Falls Creek, 2018, charcoal on paper, 27 x 20 cm.
Reflections of Cradle Mountain, 2018, digital photograph
Work-in-progress, Sky Garden, 2018 - ??, oil on canvas, 100 x 80 cm.
Skeleton Point, Bay of Fires, Tasmania, 2018, charcoal on paper, 29 x 21 cm.
Foggy Morning, near Stanley, northwest Tasmania, 2019, digital photograph
Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor, Cambodia, 2019, charcoal on paper, 31 x 24 cm.
Evening Serenity, Nam Khan River, Luang Probang, Laos, 2019, digital photograph
From Ta Phin Village near Sa Pa, Northern Vietnam Mountains, 2019, willow charcoal on paper, 31 x 24 cm.
Halong Bay, Cat Ba, Vietnam, 2019, willow charcoal on paper, 31 x 24 cm.
Halong Bay Sentinel, 2019, digital photography
Path to Heaven, Xa Phong Xuan, near Hue, Vietnam, 2019, willow charcoal on paper, 31 x 24 cm.
At Alba Farm, Hue Province, Vietnam, 2019, willow charcoal on paper, 24 x 31 cm.
Good Morning Hoi An!, Hoi An, Vietnam, 2019, digital photograph