In December 2017 and January 2018 my wife, daughter and I travelled to Tasmania to tour the southern region of this, Australia’s most southern island state.

We based ourselves at Blackman's Bay, radiating out to discover Tasmania’s spectacular natural resources such as  Mt. Field National Park, Freycinet Peninsula and Wineglass Bay and Bruny Island. We hiked, toured and cruised, combining these destinations with MONA (arguably one of the world’s best contemporary art galleries), Tasmania’s Museum and Art Gallery, Salamanca Markets,  plus a selection of Tasmanian gastronomic delights. The Agrarian Kitchen & Eatery and Franklin Restaurant were two amazing dining experiences.

Between all this activity I managed to do a few relaxed sketches around our base of Blackman’s Bay.

However for me the standout location was the summit of Mount Wellington, a 1,271 metre peak that dominates Hobart, affording spectacular views across the whole of south-eastern Tasmania. I went several times to gaze in awe, the last alone sitting quietly on boulders about 500 metres from the summit – for several hours sketching to my heart’s content.

This sketch above, entitled Toward Freycinet, was the precursor to a small yet time-consuming acrylic painting. In turn this work is the study for a much larger oil painting planned for this year.

See Toward Freycinet, 2018, acrylic on board, 30 x 40 cm.