Megalong to Medlow, 30cm x 37cm, acrylic on board, framed, 2023
This plein air work came together very easily after months of studio painting of larger paintings. It was made by the roadside in the Megalong Valley and the cliff faces in the middle ground are those of Medlow Bath, just along from the famous Hydro Majestic which is indicated by a few brush marks on the right side. The cliffs were fanning out in the mid afternoon sunshine in early Autumn.
This one is a plein air work of the Shipley Plateau as seen from Kanimbla. It had it’s finishing touches made in my studio after a day onsite as many of my plein air works do. I wanted to bring out the wonderful rhythm of the escarpment and the curves and bumps of the hills that lead the eye up to it.
A plein air painting from Kamimbla that looks back in an easterly direction towards Shipley’s Plateau. I’ve admired Elioth Gruner’s paintings since I first laid eyes on “Spring Frost” at the AGNSW when I was a small child. I really like the simplicity and the restrained Modernism of his Australian landscapes from the 1930’s and 40’s and tried to bring something from that in this painting.
Nothing to do with Science Fiction, the reason I made this little plein air painting at Kanimbla is that I was attracted to the purple patches of bushes or vines that seemed to be riding the bright green roller coaster hills in the middle ground. They seemed to be stuck on, clinging on .
Waves of mountains and hills catching the last rays from Hargreaves Lookout looking south
Since 2015 I’ve made around five versions of this rock in Kanimbla. I’m lucky enough to have two sets of friends who see this unusual Blue Mountains outcrop every day from their back verandahs. To me it has an appeal as a subject that is probably similar to the way Mont Sainte-Victoire kept drawing Cezanne back to paint it over and over again. There is always something new to see. It’s also a bit David Lynch I think.
From a stay at a beautiful property called Skye at East Gresford NSW where the owners allow selected artists to work.
Another plein air made on an island off the Queensland Coast. Made in fog and drizzle I really liked the marks left by the rain so I made no attempt to disguise them. I called this Sleeping Sow Rock
As I was making this plein air work at Cape Hillsborough the sea mist from behind the farm came in and gradually engulfed the Pinnacle.
Rhett Brewer - Artist 