Well thanks again Ellen. Every morning at sunrise when we walk through the bush here it somehow creates a feeling of calm. That atmosphere I do try to create in my paintings.

Thank you Ellen. It certainly is a lovely quiet painting.

I’m glad.

Thanks Ellen. I’ve been off line a bit lately.

A good place is important.

This morning I added a bit to this older watercolour of sunrise.

Built up in light washes to keep the atmosphere gentle and slightly diffused.

Trying to say more with less here—minimal marks, softened edges, and letting the white of the paper do some of the work.

Really good work Ellen. You must be pleased.

Meditation in blue. A limited monochromatic palette — cool indigo and phthalo blue throughout — which I hope gives a mood of stillness that feels almost meditative. Guildford area.

It was good to see again as I had forgotten about Mankes. I like the stillness he creates.

Thanks Ted.

Rust and shadow - a study in dried leaves.

Does anyone else find dried leaves more interesting to paint than fresh ones?

Thanks Ellen. I have admired Mankes painting for some time. It’s good to see as I haven’t looked at his work for some time.

Pat found this eucalyptus branch on the ground and handed it to me to paint. There’s something I love about that — the ordinary made worth looking at. Calligraphy brush on hot press paper, taking my time with the shadows and the quiet detail of the seed caps.

Thank you Ellen. Beautiful indeed.

Pat found these eucalyptus leaves on the ground—not picked, just as they were at playwright John Romeril’s
property a couple of days ago. We were part of a group attending a performance about John’s life.

Sadly John has dementia and the script was words spoken by the performers were all John’s.

Lovely work Ellen.

Good brain. I’ve been watching some tape segments of Richard Feynman which are fascinating. There’s a link with you there somewhere!

I was wrong Ellen, you were on the ball, not Ted.

That’s impressive to think it was my painting Ellen. I am working on paint with blue at the moment.

You’re on the ball Ted, as we say.

Thanks Ellen. I’m glad Ted is on the job!

I've been exploring how little I can say with a painting and still hold a feeling.
This watercolour is really about simplicity
—paring things back to just a few shapes and letting the space do the work. I'm less interested in describing a place exactly, and more in suggesting it.

Thanks Ellen. The back view always takes me into what the person is thinking.

A quiet Sunday morning drawing, loosely after the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi. I’ve always been drawn to the stillness and introspection in his figures turned away from the viewer. Working on newsprint lets the sanguine marks stay soft and atmospheric.

That’s a buzz, Ellen. Pat loves Calder. His circus is in the Whitney, New York Museum.

Thanks Ellen. I haven’t heard from you for awhile. You must be angry with the latest attack.

Less is always more. Dried eucalyptus in watercolour — muted, minimal, and a little meditative. The unpainted space is half the painting.

A little sketchbook pastel drawing after a Georges Seurat conte drawing of Paul Signac.

Collected from the ground at Kalimna Park — never picked from the tree.

Fallen eucalyptus leaves have the best colour: muted blues, olives and warm greys. Minimal — just the forms, no background — painted in watercolour on hot press paper for clean edges and quiet tonal shifts.

Wok time. Still life, Sunday morning watercolour.