Rivers and Rocks

Sunday 29 March 2015, 4pm

This post documents my latest trip in search of my muse. I spent eleven days away in the Upper Horton with fellow daubers Chris Fletcher and Mick Foley. I smeared charcoal for eight of those days and ended up with 25 drawings. As usual, the subjects dictated my approach, some were tight and some were satisfyingly loose.

We arrived at our first campsite, the gnarled glacial rocks of the appropriately named Rocky Creek, on Tuesday night. The next morning I was looking for something not too subtle to get started and attacked a group of river oaks in the creek bed.

“Oaks on Rocky Creek”

18.3.2015, 900x600

The creek itself was next

“Rocky Creek Rocks”

18.3.2015, 600x900

We discussed our next move that night as Foley prepared a massive meal. Fletcher was keen to go back to Bingara. The next day found us street walking. There’s some great signage and well preserved deco-ness in Bingara, as well as friendly locals.

“Regent Cafe, Bingara”

19.3.2015, 450x600

Foley parked his Volvo in the slightly unused garage.

“Bingara Motors with Iced Vovo”

19.3.2015, 600x450

That was enough for one day, it was ridiculously hot. We retired to a free camp on the banks of the Gwydir and enjoyed a splash. We were approached by a fisheries officer, who couldn’t understand why anyone would be camping there and not fishing. Back into town next morning. An ancient statue had caught my eye – possibly Roman.

“Marilyn at the Roxy”

20.3.2015, 450x600

Chris and I were both drawn to the milk bar and adjoining Roxy Theatre. Painful amount of detail.

“Peters Milk Bar, Bingara”

20.3.2015, 600x450

After cooling off at the campsite, I drove to the nearby bridge to draw the Gwydir. What confronted me, on the side that had the walkway, was pretty uninteresting compositionally, so I faced the other way across the bridge.

“Girders over Gwydir”

20.3.2015, 900x600

Chris was keen on attempting a nocturne and I joined him after dark. He was a bit intimidated by not being able to see the paper, so I lent him my red light headtorch. He produced a beautifully spontaneous gestural work (sorry no pic). This is my effort-

“Cypress (Nocturne)”

20.3.2015, 600x900

I was finally loosening up and enjoying myself a bit too much. I had a go at another one (river oaks) before I stumbled off to bed.

“Gwydir (Nocturne)”

20.3.2015, 600x900

Getting a bit too loose now. As I remarked to Chris, nocturnes can be a disappointment in the full light of day. It could result in an interesting painting, though. The skies have been left white for the moment, white being the best ground for a glowing night sky.

Next day was a lay-off as we travelled on to the top of Mt. Kaputar National Park. Foley found a flat on his Volvo as we left the camp and couldn’t find anywhere to fix it on a Saturday. Fletcher’s car was losing fluid and overheated on the way up the mountain. A big storm hit that night and we had to retreat to the covered facilities to prepare dinner as half inch hail pounded down. It was all clear the next day and I drove off to the nearby Doug Sky lookout to catch the dawn.

“Euglah Rock”

22.3.2015, 900x600

Had a look at the Governor on the way back and found some magical folds-

“The Gins Mountain from Corrumbral Borawah”

22.3.2015, 900x600

The word ‘gin’ is usually seen as a disrespectful term for an aboriginal woman, but the first to use it, Macassar fishermen, used it as a respectful description. The word derives from the ancient Greek. Gins Mountain was probably where ‘women’s business’ took place.

I was back in camp by 8am for breakfast. Mick was leaving the next day and Chris said he’d be going as well. I went off to investigate some of the walking tracks with a couple of small panels. I soon came to the top of Mt. Dowe and sat down to draw the view towards the Warrumbungles, in the company of several massive transmission towers.

“The Warrumbungles from Mt. Dowe”

22.3.2015, 600x450

I then walked a short distance through the bush and was assaulted by the blast of thunder nearby. I thought it prudent to retreat to the camp. When no rain eventuated, I returned after lunch to draw the tower anchors. Another storm was approaching from a different direction. I worked quickly.

“Approaching Storm, Mt. Dowe”

22.3.2015, 600x450

I was a bit knackered when I got back to camp. Chris had gone off to Euglah Rock and Mick was working on one of his tiny watercolours. I marshalled some energy and went off to another view that Chris had had a couple of goes at.

“West Kaputar Rock”

22.3.2015, 600x450

That night I was taken with the play of the dunny lights on the trees and pushed out another nocturne. Six drawings in one day. I slept well.

“Dawsons Spring (Nocturne)”

22.3.2015, 900x600

The next morning I was left alone fairly early and was amused to see a cheeky white cheeked honeyeater alighting on the back of a nearby tame roo. I thought it was eating bugs, but eventually realised it was plucking tufts of fur for nesting material. A mob of roos was hanging around the campsite, ransacking food supplies and licking the BBQ grills clean at night.

Here it is taking off with a gobful of fur-

I left and proceeded down the mountain to find the trees stripped of leaves half way down. When I got to Narrabri I found a house with smashed tiles and covered in tarps. All the red gums nearby were smashed. Apparently there had been hail the size of cricket balls down here on Saturday night. Glad we didn’t cop that on top of the mountain.

I found my way to the north of the National Park along a very rough road and stopped for the night at Waa Gorge (‘No Camping Allowed’). I walked up the creek to the gorge, struggling over rocks with a big panel to draw this-

“Waa Gorge”

23.3.2015, 600x900

On waking next day, I realised I needed to go back and do at least one drawing along the creek. I could have happily worked there for a week.

“Mill-Bullah Waterholes”

24.3.2015, 600x900

I started this early, but by the time I finished it about three hours later, it was stinking hot on the bedrock of the channel and I really appreciated a dip in the nice spa-sized pool nearby. I took off for Sawn Rocks, an imposing display of hexagonal basalt columns.

“Sawn Rocks”

24.3.2015, 600x900

I drove back to Narrabri through another huge downpour (no hail), having to stop a couple of times because I couldn’t see where I was going. I needed fuel and ice for the esky. I treated myself to a pizza and a night in a very soggy caravan park, full of grey nomads with little fluffy white dogs. Broke a tooth on the pizza, which I could only eat half of. Saved the rest and heated it up in a frying pan the next night. Tasted better the second night.

Left Narrabri early, heading for the Upper Horton valley. Had to stop and draw this-

“Rising Mist near Killarney Gap”

25.3.2015, 900x600

A couple of km further along-

“Paleroo”

25.3.2015, 900x600

And a few km further-

“Roseberry Park”

25.3.2015, 900x600

I drove on to Rocky Creek Station-

“Rocky Creek Pastoral”

25.3.2015, 900x600

I returned to the Rocky Creek campsite of last week, now in flood, where I met an Austrian couple spending a year touring Australia in their massive Iveco 4wd truck. Nice people, eager to engage me in German on hearing my father was Austrian, which was pretty futile.

Did a quick sketch of the adjacent hill at dawn next morning-

“Cypress at 6am”

26.3.2015, 600x450

I drove on through Bingara to my final destination, Myall Creek Station (notorious as the site of the Myall Creek Massacre of 1838 - http://www.myallcreekmassacre.com/Myall_Creek_Massacre/Home.html 

Its notoriety is undeserved, as those living there at the time were very sympathetic to the aborigines. 

I’d teed up a visit the week before with Bob, the owner. (“Are you the bloke that sent us the email?” – “Yep” – “We didn’t answer it, we thought it was a scam.”)

Anyway, Bob and Rhonda were very friendly and accommodating, Rhonda even gave me a tour of the wonderfully ancient outbuildings and fat weaners.

“Myall Creek Station”

26.3.2015, 900x600

This drawing took me four hours and put paid to any intentions I had to return home that day. I was given access to the facilities and slept in my ute, serenaded by the weaners. Couldn’t resist one last nocturne-

“Song of the Weaners (Nocturne)”

26.3.2015, 600x450

Rhonda gave me a tour of the house the next morning (amazing stained glass) and I set off for home. I think I’ll have to return to Myall Creek one day, there’s an awful lot to draw there.