Grasshoppers Loose in Queensland Outback Art Tour 2014
Outback QLD Art Tour 2014
Eleven of us packed up our paintbrushes to go ‘Bush’ in the legendary town of Longreach. A visit to The Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame was a fascinating tribute to the pioneering men and women of Australia, and we spent plenty of time here on our first day.
A new day and we are off to Lily Lagoon to paint- Our driver was so keen to show us everything that we hardly had time to paint! In the afternoon back at Longreach, a few of us had the opportunity to enjoy a gallop through the scrub on a Cobb and Co Coach and experience life as it was in the old days. A Drovers Sunset Cruise on the Thomson River in the evening, and a camp oven dinner and Show afterwards finished off our day nicely.
We visited Winton, the Dinosaur capital of Australia and home of Waltzing Matilda, we experienced the Waltzing Matilda Centre, the only museum in the world to be dedicated to song. The Art Gallery is also in the centre, and we enjoyed the art on show. Whoopee! Free time to sketch or paint around the town, in the afternoon.
Carisbrooke Station, is a diverse and scenic grazing property in the heart of outback Queensland. Spectacular scenery abounds and we soaked up the scenery and culture and stopped and painted at the Three Sisters, three humps away in the distance!
To Boulia. On the way, we caught up with the locals at the Middleton Hotel and enjoyed jam and scones put on by the publicans wife, while he told us a few bush yarns. Cawnpore Lookout; set amongst the open pebbly plains, is a landscape found in only two places on earth. We stopped at the Lilly Vale Hills and painted, even though we nearly got blown away by the wind!
In Boulia we uncovered the myth of the mysterious Min Min Lights and enjoyed dinner and a show.
Travelling south to Eyre Creek where the Channel Country meets the desert, we headed to the remote outback town of Birdsville. Crossing the vast Cuttaburra floodplain we lunched Bedourie, a modern town featuring lush green grass and an abundance of trees and shrubs. We sketched around town and headed off to Birdsville and the famous Birdsville Hotel!! In Birdsville, we sketched and painted around town, and by the Diamantina River.
Our Simpson Desert sunset happy hour atop’ Big Red’ was just wonderful. We journeyed north of Birdsville where on a sandy clay pan covered by ironstone pebbles known as gibbers, grow the prehistoric Waddi trees, found in only a few locations in Western Queensland. Near the Waddi trees is a built up area known as the Dingo Caves, offering a panoramic view of the channel country. Painting and sketching amongst the rocky terrain of the Dingo caves was very hot as the sun sizzled on the rocky surface. We were fortunate to get into this place as the owner of the property had closed it - too many tourists! It doesn’t get more ‘outback’ than this!
We travelled through the ghost town of Beetoota sketching the ruins before visiting Deon’s Lookout, taking in amazing views of the Diamantina Shire. We picnicked in the channel country beside Cooper’s Creek, and headed off to Windorah to meet the locals at the Western Star Hotel. Another day to enjoy the landscape of the outback! We travelled on a scenic nature drive from town passing through a variety of country including Gidgee woodlands, Spinifex grasslands and floodplains to Cooper’s Creek and did more painting and sketching.
We drove out to view the magnificent red sand hills situated just to the west of town for a final sunset with drinks, dressed up in our outfits representing the Song Waltzing Matilda. There were a couple of sheep, some drovers and a billabong hat. What a laugh it all was! Heading back to Longreach, we travelled through spectacular scenery of rugged beauty and vast open plains as we crossed the coolabah lined creeks, passing through Jundah and Stonehenge to arrive in Longreach in the afternoon.
After a wonderful outback journey of a lifetime we all went our separate ways filled with inspiration for painting!
Outback Qld art tour me painting, 2014
Outback Qld Art Tour 2014 at the bar in the Birdsville Pub, 2014
