Weddings, Wool Museums and Works in Progress

I have been on hiatus over in NSW for the past week and am having internet and blog withdrawal symptoms! Sometimes an iPhone screen just doesn't cut it and you need to borrow your brothers laptop to update your blog.

I brought my oil painting for Mum across from WA (after leaving it in the taxi and calling the cab company to get the guy to bring it to the airport!) and put the last glaze on yesterday, then a coat of aerosol retouch varnish. I'm not 100% happy with it but I don't want to fiddle with it anymore. I probably should have increased the value range to make it a bit more bold and dramatic but we learn from our mistakes. Anyway, everyone else seems to like it, except my little brother who seems to think the eyes are too beady and look a tad murderous.... yeah thanks Tom.



The Last Pen - Oil on canvas



Boring palette this time because all I needed to do wash a glaze of orange and red over the sunset and touch up the dog's eyes.

We left at 5:30am WA time on Thursday after the kids having next to no sleep cause they were still awake at midnight and we had to be up at 3am! They slept all the way over while I whinged about not being able to take sewing needles on the plane - not that I would have been able to use them anyway cause I was falling asleep every 5 min. We got to Melbourne at midday eastern time (WA is 3 hours behind) and went to get our hire car - my husband was salivating over this veeerrry nice brand spanking new bright red Holden Commodore! Nice change considering I asked for a Subaru wagon.

Bryan, Han & his super hire car - look at that cheesy grin!

After a 5 hour drive from Melbourne, we arrived in Hay that night and had dinner with my family. I actually travelled over for one of my very best friend's weddings, which she held in Hay. Jewelz and I literally grew up together - our parents met in prenatal classes when they were pregnant with us! Congrats to Julia and Lachlan.

Julia & Lachlan Barnes

We also visited Bryan family in Wagga for a few days and came back to Hay today. Here are some random photos.....

Han with Dee & Bidgee, black and tan Kelpies similar to the one in my painting

I really should go and take more photos of my family farm - it really is a landscape painter's paradise when it comes to painting river and farm scenes. The river is 200 m from the house and runs the entire length of the property.


Murrumbidgee river view from my parent's farm house



Chris & Shonelle drove over from Broken Hill to visit us (5 and a half hour drive!) and spent the night. We took them and Manon to Shear Outback, the Shearer's Hall of Fame museum to watch the shearing demonstrations, browse the exhibits and have lunch at the cafe.



My not so little brother wearing the giant Ugg boot in the Gift Shop at Shear Outback

  Mum & Dad bought this HUGE mixed media painting from an Art auction at Yanco Agricultural College, the school where all my family goes. It is about 2 m long and stretched raw linen. It was painted by one of the teachers there, Catherine Stewart, but they can't remember the name of the piece. It has wood elements as well as acrylic paint, charcoal and chalk. I love it!



 Linking to Paint Party Friday and Palette & Paint