Off the Grid ~ Christmas

From the Warrambungles I started my journey south to Victoria stopping off at Dubbo to visit my gorgeous cracker of a cousin Jacinta to laugh away a few days. Love that chick!!

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Excitement set in crossing the Murrumbidgee River and seeing signposts to Gundagai and Wagga Wagga, knowing that my next big river was going to be the Murray. Checked in to Albury for the night, then headed across the border for the Howqua River region, Alpine Country: the High Country, just bloody beautiful country. 

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Not sure I was that prepared for the long winding dirt track with blind corners every 100 metres, escarpments, mountains, glorious vistas and grassy flats along riverbanks that led me to 7 Mile Flats camp. This country is so beautiful!!!

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I did arrive at the site and there was a huge horse trekking mob set up all wearing their akubras, drizabone’s and boots. Where was Clancy?? Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton…. Total Man from Snowy River setting. 

Set up camp and lucked out big time with our own personal swimming hole flanked with the tallest trees, grasses and wildflowers. Seriously was expecting Tom Burlinson to cross the escarpment on a wild stallion!

Our very own swimming hole….

Our very own swimming hole….

I went on a wood collecting mission as it was raining a bit so the nights were absolutely freezing and pulled every conceivable warm thing out of my ute to snuggle up in.

Imo arrived the next day with all the fancy fare…she is the total rock star!!! We ate like queens for days!! And the X-mas decorations were so natural as they kept flying in and out, all reds and greens with dashes of blue; Parrots, Black cockatoos, Willy Wag Tails and Rosellas.  Just so gorgeous!!

Moét…..What a corker!

Moét…..What a corker!

Obligatory Choccy Soldiers for breakfast… well it was nearly lunch time ..

Obligatory Choccy Soldiers for breakfast… well it was nearly lunch time ..

The next 6 days were perfect; excellent weather, drawing, reading, painting, eating, swimming, beauty treatments, laughing, drinking and stoking fires. Birdsong, rustling peppermint trees, babbling waters and whip birds was the only soundtrack and exquisite beauty at its best our only vista.

We took a million photos and I have culled them maximum … it was a brilliant “off the grid” Xmas!!!!

avi beers around the pit..

avi beers around the pit..

Enticing the Christmas decorations to hang around

Enticing the Christmas decorations to hang around

….four books in 6 days ain’t bad!!

….four books in 6 days ain’t bad!!

Beauty Spa.. pedicure anyone???

Beauty Spa.. pedicure anyone???

Bush studio

Bush studio

hello… prawns and pinot gris for lunch… riverside!

hello… prawns and pinot gris for lunch… riverside!

Bacon and eggs for breakfast….

Bacon and eggs for breakfast….

Shag on a rock.

Shag on a rock.

Domestics… collecting water from the river.

Domestics… collecting water from the river.

Christmas Off the Grid!!!

Christmas Off the Grid!!!

Dust to dust

Rear Vision, Same Vision

Rear Vision, Same Vision

Leaving Darwin was easier than the 3 grand worth of straight desert roads klm’s that lay in front of me. It takes two days just to get out of the Territory.  I was tempted to go east just to see some green and a few different vistas but I stuck at it down through dinosaur country Winton, Longreach and when the road was still moving whilst stationary, I figured it would be time for a good break!!

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I stayed for a few days in Mitchell so I could frequent the artesian baths daily. How EXCELLENT are they!!! Dipping into 40 degree pools and soaking in the healing minerals then popping into a <19 degree pool… seriously could have been a Turkish baths in Budapest.

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The camp was a lovely riverside camp and it was totally a revive/survive stop. Crunched another grand just to get to Coonabarrabran. What a treat driving into country with hills, gullies, sheep, emus, shacks, chimney’s and winding roads! Very Stimulating!! From here on in it will be easy drives under 4 or 5 hundred km’s at best.

the Apocalypse!

the Apocalypse!

I was really looking forward to getting out to the Warrambungles to test drive my studio set up!  The park is so beautiful and I was totally inspired to get drawing. Scored a yearlong All Parks Pass and wound down into this gorgeous campground.  Then the apocalypse came! I had almost finished getting the tent up when I heard a bit of a rumble. Looked up and saw this pinky, orangey, dirty brown cloud bellowing up over the mountain.

The Spire

The Spire

My first thought was bushfire, but there was no smell and it was moving in and fast. I literally started chucking shit in the car and tying down all the canopy sides when it just hit! 120kph dust storm. I was in Interstellar!  It just ripped through pulling out my tent poles and making my tent look like a tissue as it flapped wildly with the wind. I was shitting myself … where was Matthew McConaughey???? And is my tent going to get shredded??? 

I few tree’s got stripped and The rangers came round to check on us, warned there was a massive storm front coming through and we’d probably be ok. At that point it was as clear as! I totally tied that tent down with every available guy rope and seriously drilled those pegs in proper.

Some other campers pulled in and I was very happy that they stayed camped next to me. Uta, Jorge, Linda and Benno… in a van! If it got hectic… I was jumping in with them!! had an excellent evening with red wine, cheeses and fruit and laughed and laughed… till about midnight when the storm lashed down. Again shitting myself!!! Blair Witch Project came to mind at about 3am as I sat inside the tent and feeling like a sniveling, scared old lady using up all my data looking at bloody weather maps!!!

Seriously THAT’S when I grew some balls and went to sleep for a couple of hours.

The following day I gave Bertha a clean out.  Sorted the dust and had a very good nights sleep… with one thought in my mind… TOMORROW I’m test-driving the studio!!!!

Bush Studio

Bush Studio

bin awhile……

Well its clear that other social media has replaced this blog. For me, Im going to pick this up as a diary because I’m packing up my studio to go on an adventure to NSW drawing and painting and want to document this major event in my life.

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SO…. Were did the last 4 years go??
In a nutshell!!!
It has been an exciting journey over the last couple of years. My last blog was from that fabulous visit to Vee’s in France. She had been saying for years and years to come visit, that it will change my life and would it not be grand to sit over a glass of wine and catch up on 20 years of our lives, our three daughters and the highs and lows since art school in the eighties. Well ultimately, it did change my life. Vee if your reading this I ThankYOU. 

This photo was take on our last big night out in Paris at the Moulin Rouge and I feel its appropriate to post this as it gives my blogs a flow considering the last 4 years have been totally neglected!

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Soon after arriving back in Australia I went  on an artist residency to Alice Springs with ArtbackNT for six weeks. Another game changer for me!

Confronted with a different landscape that was in sheer contrast to my Top End works was a bit of a challenge and culminated in the exhibition ‘Alice Rocks’ At the CDU campus and then a selection of works “Desert Roads’ went to Melbourne for a month, at Glimpse Art Space. Successful shows!!

ArtbackNT are an amazing support for the arts across the Territory and I still have ties with them with the Artists on Tour program. Leading artists deliver workshops around a range of art forms including dance, visual arts, story telling, sculpture and theatre. Check them out @

https://artbacknt.com.au/what-we-do/artists-on-tour/

I took another year away from my work as Arts Senior at my local high school and pursued my practice with many successes along the way. Katherine Art Prize and then finalist in the John Leslie prize for landscape were won within weeks of each other!! Too happy with that. It’s amazing how uplifting and confidence building winning an art prize or making finalist can be. It’s really quite validating!!!

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In 2017 I won a significant artist grant from ArtsNT to develop a body of work about the Territory landscape that culminated in my first solo exhibition at a prominent commercial gallery in Darwin. This was an extremely exciting period in my artist life! Inspirations came like waves of delight, followed by tsunamis of trepidation. Throughout the process I was fully supported by my beautiful daughters Lani, Imogen and Matilda, Paul Johnstone, peers and friends. Big Huge thanks to Cath, Franck, Sonia, Rob, Wendy… this list could go on and Don. Darwin has an incredibly supportive arts community and I totally love it!!
Stone Country was a very successful exhibition and so was the after party that was organised by Matilda at this gorgeous wine bar next door to the gallery. Big celebrations!!!
I am now represented in Darwin by Paul Johnstone Gallery and he is an absolute legend to deal with, plus he shells out wine when he visits the studio and thats gotta be a big bonus!! 
16 months later and I’m up for my second show there in a couple of weeks. Bring it AWN!!