Visiting Tasmania’s west coast.
The Ring River, Tasmania
It’s Tasmania’s off season, and it’s that time of year to pack our bags and get away for a bit. As winter rolls in, there’s nothing nicer that finding a cosy cabin with a wood fire, and greeting the morning frost or fog with a cup of tea and cosy hand-knit jumper.
This year, we visited Tasmania’s west coast. We stayed in the town of Strahan, did some walking, and saw a handful of beautiful waterfalls. I’m always a bit hit-and-miss with keeping a sketchbook while I’m away, but this time I managed a few paintings and sketches.
Sketch done with a Kaweco fountain pen in a Rosemark Press travel journal.
Strahan is a lovely place, and while it is quiet in winter, our host promised us the town is packed in summer. We spent our mornings walking along the still, silk-like waters of Macquarie Harbour and the Gordon River, and visiting the frothing, tea-coloured water of Botanical Creek.
Winter mornings in Tasmania are often still, and coloured with cornflower blue and lilac and lavender. And as we ventured into the rainforest, the colours shifted to warm, rich browns and copper-greens.
The Ring River, Tasmania
There wasn’t much chance for stopping and painting, but I did manage a few sketches acrylic and gouache in my small sketchbook. I also kept a daily travel journal with pen and ink, which is a quick and easy way to record memories and fun moments. I never worry too much about how the painting turns out when it comes to travel sketching. This trip, I ended up some very abstract, mark-making-heavy sketches, and it was a great reminder that a new place or view can bring on unexpected inspiration!
Acrylic sketch in a Royal Talens sketchbook
Gouache in a Royal Talens sketchbooks (left), and pen and pencil in a Rosemark Press travel journal (right).