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.
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