Colour Makes Me Happy... Still

Since returning from the Glenelg River neutral, natural tones (mainly yellows and green) have infiltrated the previous lolly pop colours and the whole thing is starting to settle down. I will keep some of the really vibrant colours to represent the greens, oranges, reds and pinks that show up in the bush after fire and rain but the move is towards "blue and green should never be seen unless there's a colour in between"...This painting has no deep meaning or direction other than what comes next. It's an exercise in familiarizing myself with the way colour works and how paint moves with other media.

The interesting thing (to me) about doing this is that there is still so much that doesn't work or tie together in this painting yet but its still out there

Refelctions of limestone and tea tree on the Glenelg River

These photos were taken on a recent three day canoe trip up the Glenelg River.  We paddled 14 kilometers a day and camped each night in the National Park either side of the river. Traveling by river is the perfect way to see the landscape from a different perspective. You move along fairly slowly and its totally quiet apart from the bush noise. I loved getting lost in the intense greens, the limestone cliffs and the reflections in the water.  The bird life was amazing, we saw some rare cockatoos and lots of black cockatoos.  We were even lucky enough to hear a koala calling for a mate.  I would have said wild pigs but I am assured it was a koala. We didn't see it though.

Another thing that is interesting on the Glenelg River is the River Shack (that's what I'm calling it). There are dozens of these shacks. Some of them look as though they're lived in and others look like they're being swallowed by the river. You can see them for yourself when I post them in a little series.

Already these photos have influenced Colour Makes Me Happy. I have been working on it again since my last post about it but it has already changed again due to the influence the Glenelg River

Colour Makes Me Happy...continued

Each image is a detail of the work in progress: Colour Makes Me Happy. I haven't included a full version.  I have spent some time playing with the balance of colours and at times I think I don't know what I'm doing.  I like the process of adding and subtracting colours, shapes and layers.  Its a little bit like Tetris trying to create harmony within the colours and shapes in a way that they will inevitably sing a tune that is joyful and light.

Murray River Afternoon Light

A recent trip to the Murray river has inspired me.  I want to paint the landscape but in an abstracted way that eludes to the play of light and colour through out the day. I was busy looking for new ways to look at the world around me through the lens of a camera and came up with these images...