KANGAROO ISLAND PAINTING EXPERIENCE 7-14 MARCH 2022

WOW what a trip! The painting trip to kangaroo Island was far above my expectations, as I didn’t expect the island to be so diverse in places to paint.

Nine of us met at Adelaide airport to take the 40 minute flight to KI. No longer were we up, than we were going down. We were met by Craig from Exceptional Kangaroo Island Tours. This trip was going to be Exceptional indeed!

First spot? Duck Lagoon for morning tea and sketching time. There was a variety of medium used by the group, and also a variety of techniques from traditional to abstract. Lunch was at Pelican Bay. From the hillside looking down on purple, greens, white stones, blue lagoon in the distance- it was a delight. We did drive around to Pennington Bay but it was blowing a gale so we all went back to the shelter of Pelican Bay. I think this was everyone’s favourite spot.

Our hotel was a guest house that needed a bit of  TLC, but the owners were nice, and the food great. We had our show and tells in the games room.

A word about the food - Morning teas- Absolutely first class. homemade  cakes and biscuits fresh scones- all made by Craigs wife Janet. We even had coffee tea and cakes brought to us while we painted on some days! The lunches were to die for! Silver service! White tablecloth, and napkins. Real cutlery, not plastic, wines of the region and even non-alcoholic beer for anyone who could not drink alcohol. Fresh salads, made up while we sketched:  we had a taste of Japanese with Shushi, and raw fish and soy sauce, a taste of Italian with pasta, Barbecued grilled whiting, and fish and chips- we were really spoilt! My mouth is watering as I write this.

One of our group, could play Scottish music on her fiddle, so we were entertained on some nights, by tunes of Scotland accompanied on the double base by a local muso. Really toe tapping stuff!

So this was the order of the day. Painting on beaches with red rocks, painting old eucalyptus stills and the Cygnet River, Painting forests, rolling hills, grass trees- nothing was too much trouble for Craig. He dropped groups of us off in different places so we could paint what appealed to each individual. Truly a bespoke trip. He was a wealth of information and we learnt so much about the island which was so important for understanding of what we were painting.

Of course we saw some of KI’s icons such as walking with the seals at Seal Bay, painting at Remarkable Rocks, and Admirals Arch. We saw the regrowth after the bushfires which was so green and lush looking. We visited Janelle Macintosh a local artist and saw her wonderful work using found flora from the bush.

On the last night we visited Craigs house for a homemade Paella, cooked by him which was wonderful. We had wine, fun, and song! A fitting end to our trip!

Where to next? Arnhemland!