Merry Christmas for 2016

Wishing everyone all the best for Christmas and the new year. Decorating the tree is one of my favourite things to do at Christmas and it would be good to have the tree out all year. Many of the decorations are collected from all over the world and bring back wonderful memories of our trips. 

Deborah found a wonderful App which created the snow effect over my painting of lake Wendouree. Just in case you were wondering, on occasions, it has snowed in Ballarat.

Celebrating Deborah's Birthday

Deborah had a birthday recently and we spent a night at Queenscliff, a beautiful coastal town on the Bellarine Peninsula. We stayed at the Vue Grand Hotel, built in the Victorian era and one of the most magnificent buildings in Victoria. The weather was perfect, and we certainly tried the local cuisine with gusto.

 Vue Grand Hotel

 Deborah relaxing in the courtyard

 View out into the courtyard

 Another view of the courtyard

 The architecture was like revisiting another era

Breakfast served in the Grand Dining Room

 Deborah and I having a delicious birthday meal at the nearby Athelstane House Hotel. 

Birthday wishes for Deb, and her nickname

Winter Moon

Winter Moon, 2016, oil on linen, 36 x 46 cm

This painting is based on a view over Lake Wendouree at Ballarat and it's one of a series I'm doing where moonlight is the main subject matter. These paintings are constructed mainly from memory and imagination and it's a very different approach to the way I've been working in the past, where I've preferred to work mainly in front of whatever I've been painting. Occasionally I've taken notes, quick line drawings with words added to help my memory. As the painting progresses, I sometimes feel the need to revisit the site to make sure the picture reflects the nature and mood of the moon spreading it's light upon the scene.