Week 25 Stop and Paint the Roses

I'm back from my trip to Australia and had a fantastic time. Kangaroos, koalas, rain forest jeep tour, waterfalls, a boat trip out to the great barrier reef, sea turtles, whales, dolphins, and I saw only 3 or so terrifying spiders. I did not scream once. It was good.
I posted daily on instagram while I was gone - you can check it out here. You don't need an instagram account to view my stuff as I'm posting publicly.

I did get out with my friend, Anita yesterday to paint in Littleton -we chose the War Memorial Rose Garden. It was beautiful with roses of every color and I want to go back. (don't I always say that?)

Highlights from the trip included snorkeling on the great barrier reef. I floundered in the water like a tourist (total shark bait) for the minimal amount of time so I could say I did it, then swam back to the boat to do a sketch. I know my strengths.
One of the crew told me at the end of the day how some people come out and don't snorkel or dive but actually just sleep on the boat. He said what a waste of time and money. He obviously didn't see me skipping the second afternoon snorkel trip, taking a nap and drawing at the other end of the boat.

The best place was visiting the Lone Pine Koala Bear Sanctuary - us and a bunch of preschoolers feeding kangaroos - fantastic. Then there are the Koala bears. They are mesmerizing and I honestly could have watched them all day. Katt and I took some time to sketch.

This was Noosa National Park at Alexandria bay. We saw dolphins and whales off in the far distance.

This is Australia - mmmm.

We saw a lot in 2 1/2 weeks from Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and all the way to Cairnes. I didn't paint as much as I wanted - was with my husband and daughter. Unless you are traveling with other artists people don't really want to stand around all day while you paint apparently. So I can't wait use the reference photos and get some studio painting done.
Thanks for following my art journey!