Another big week at Arkaroola!

Flying in a small plane out into the western deserts is not for the faint hearted, or so I found out this time around. For the first time, I actually got airsick.... not just the squeemish tummy but the real throw up in a bag stuff.... oh nightmares! I really thought my number was up by the time we got into the desert..... aaargh! The Piper Navaho tossed and jolted across the skies thrown about by hot pockets of air and small clouds..... but sigh, it was fantastic to be back out there.... once the tummy settled.

This is the 5th trek into the wilderness that I have organised for my artistically inclined friends. Twice a year, I invite people to join me in this wild adventure and it is a lot of fun. It's energetic, focused, free, exciting and inspiring..... Just to get out there in that uranium decaying background seems to reignite the soul and cal, the mind.

Flying above Lake Frome has to be one of the purest joys of life on earth. It's a surreal and majestic sight and never the same..... again this time, it lay resplendent below us swathed in layers and the palest greys and ochres, watercolour washes across the plains. It's not a well known salt lake, but in many ways, I love it more than Lake Eyre. About 600 sq kms in size, it's like being on another world.

Painting in the Australian Outback is always a treat!

If ever you wanted to experience the Outback and delight your senses all at once, then going to Arkaroola with 8 fantastic women and 2 men to explore, paint and renew friendships is a great way to do it!

We have just returned from our fifth trip to that great Aussie icon, the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary where our souls were inspired, nourished and delighted all at once. Many people just drive in, stay over one night, then drive out which for me is completely missing this amazing opportunity to reignite one senses with the arid lands of Australia.

The landscape was alive with wildflowers and Sturts Desert Peas didn't fail us with their wonderful show of colour. The days were balmy and the evenings warm.

Sturt's Desert Pea - a wonderful sight to see!

Cassia blooms everywhere in the Spring making the fields golden

We wondered and wandered amongst the hills and plains, across fields of flowers, to Paralana Springs where the air was heavy and hot. We couldn't stay long and returned across the Strzlecki Desert, ablaze with colour. Here's Jan putting together some field notes on the Springs in the hot desert sun! Brave Jan!

 

A pure whit e gum stands proud against the rocks of Paralana Springs! Sure to bring out the best in any artist!

 

Lake Frome also amazed us with the best colours yet as recent rains had semi-filled the salt lake. Pastel colours criss crossed the land awash with salt below us as we circled in the Piper Navaho at 3500 feet. Ah heaven!

Lake Frome at it's most magnificent - an abstract of pastel shades!

When I began to take artists to the desert to paint, I never realised just how rich and rewarding the experience would be especially for myself! But as the adventures have rolled into each other, we have bonded together into a group, the Wild Women of Arkaroola PLUS (PLUS for the occasional brave male that joins us!). I cannot tell you how deeply these field trips have affected me and my artworks, but they have and I am now painting with all the JOY of a long life as an artist!

I wish you all a creative and fulfilling life as you explore Mother Earth! May you have eyes to see the beauty in her as we do.

Wilderness Painting! Come and 'see' with me!

Hi all

Well on my return from the desert trek that Wanda and I took late last year, the place that stood out the most as a painter's paradise was definitely Arkaroola in the South Australian Outback! What a place! IMy heart yearned to return and so after much chopping and changing, I am on a roll and getting back out there!

But wait! You are invited to come and paint with me! This is NOT a camping trip, oh no no! This is not 'roughing it' in the desert! This is a lovely comfortable week at a wonderful wilderness sanctuary in the heart of the North Flinders Ranges that has a highly regarded reputation in the eco-tourism industry! A gem in the bush!

Owned by brother and sister, Doug and Margaret Sprigg, this amazing place will host our painting tour. There's several 4WD treks to take, an aboriginal elder who will guide you through some of the area's dreamtime, not to mention the most inspiring landscapes to get you painting and 'seeing' like you have never seen before.

It was so inspiring that on my return I painted "Flying High" in a whole new range of colours. My own sense of vision has been heightened by going out there and seeing Australian as if seeing it for the first time!. This is truly a wonderful experience (and comfortable and cosy!)

I would love to see this place through your eyes! And see what you come up with in paint!

 Violet ranges with acid limes and yellows, hourly changes of colour, like driving through a 'living painting'

 Some of the landforms are quite strange, new shapes and hills, a fascinating array of colours in a rugged land.

There's an 'ah!' around every corner.... a place begging you to stop, the contentment you feel in this awesome place...... aaahhhh!

If you would like to come along with me in May, then go to my newsletter for more details!