Kalanchoe in Pot

 

                                             Pen and watercolour on sketching paper

 

This Kalanchoe has been flowering like this for weeks and every time I looked at it I thought I must sketch it before the flowers fade. Yesterday I thought I had left it too late but it was only because I had forgotten to water it. After a quick drink the flowers looked pretty and perky once again! The proportions of my sketch are all out of whack but there was no preliminary drawing and I just wanted to keep my hand in with some sketching as I haven't done any for a while. So I'm fairly happy with it.

 

Now, I must warn you that there are copious amounts of photos ahead! I visited Kings Park last week as I am wont to do every September and it is impossible to leave without having given my camera a good work-out.

Last weekend I had an article published in The West Australian. It is all about enjoying the wildflowers that can be found in suburban Perth. Click here for the online link if you would like to read it. Many of the pictures below will relate to the bit in the article about Kings Park.

 

Here comes the onslaught - I hope you make it to the end!

 

 

 We are so lucky to have 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of park/bushland so close to the centre of the city; due to the great foresight of the original city planners.

 

So much work goes into getting the botanical garden looking stunning during spring. Over recent years so many new plants have gone in, and acre upon acre bristle with gorgeous native plants to admire. The boronia garden smelt divine!

 

 

 

 

In 1954 the Queen planted a eucalyptus tree in Kings Park to commemorate her visit. 

 

 

It has since grown into a very regal specimen - as you can see from the tiara!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other trees had been dressed for the festival too, and the entrance to the gift shop was also decorated with festive colour.

 

 

Then it was off on a guided tour through the native vegetation in the park.

 

 

Because many of our wildflowers are very delicate it is hard to convey how beautiful they look when actually in the bush. No doubt a better camera and a better photographer could do it justice but you just have to take my word for it that walking through the bush landscape in the height of spring will bring you to your knees!

The red and green kangaroo paws are furry to touch. They were growing in thickets in many areas.

 

Here you can almost feel you are in the middle of the bush miles from anywhere until you spot the tops of the skyscrapers in the distance.

 

 

To other matters, indie bookseller Oxford St. Books now have my books in stock. Yay!

 

 

West Australian Wildflowers

It isn't officially spring until the beginning of September but it has sprung early this year. There are many patches of remnant native bushland dotted around the Perth metropolitan area which are a delight to visit at any time of year but particularly when everything is in flower! Nearly two weeks ago a friend and I went for a walk in the bush just adjacent to Landsdale Farm. So many pretty flowers to admire including the ubiquitous hibbertia and Swan River myrtle.

 

 

 Above is the carnivorous sundew drosera.

 

 

Today my friend and I visited the Hepburn Heights bushland reserve which looked particularly pretty in the mid-afternoon light. Today was one of those ridiculously perfect winter's days when the sun is shining and the breeze is fresh.

 

 

                                                                         Moi!

 

 

And the winner is....

 

Thanks to all of you who kindly left comments on my last post and went into the draw for a copy of my shiny new book!

 

All the names went into a hat, and the lucky winner is..........Debbie Nolan (View from Harmony Hills). Yay, Debbie! please email me your address and I will send you a copy ASAP.

I am also excited to announce that my book is now available online at Amazon, and other outlets such as The Book Depository will be soon to follow. ***Update*** now also available on The Book Depository - and they do free delivery.

 

The idea for the book came about when I embarked upon a ten day painting challenge in 2012. After years of procrastination, I was thrilled at how potent and motivating the challenge format proved to be.

 

Below is the painting I did on the very first day of the ten day challenge, and the following is the same subject matter painted in a more stylised manner about six months later. There aren't any photos in my book but a lot of the paintings mentioned can be seen in the older posts on this blog.

 

 

 

The photo below is a clear example of the progress I made through regular painting sessions.

Using the same props, the still life on the left was done about a year after the one on the right.          

                                      Acrylic on board and canvas board respectively (2012)

And to other matters - there is a lot of prettiness in the garden at the moment but only when it comes to my pot plants. The garden in general has gone to rack and ruin. I hope to get out into the bushland soon to take photos of the emerging wildflowers.

                                                             
I hope you are all having a great week!