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This painting of Mt Owen has taken a bit of figuring out. It wasn't feeling quite right, and after much deliberation I decided that "glow" wasn't how I wanted it. That particular night so golden and warm, I think we even had an Aurora later on. So I ended up re-doing the sky and tarn, adding in more soft warm tones and now I'm layering up the warm sun highlights on the tussocks. It's now starting to glow.
The inspiration for this painting came from a overnight trip to the summit after a run of beautiful, still bluebird days. Starting from Courthouse Flat, the track climbs steadily through varied native bush before opening out to increasingly dramatic mountain views and unusual limestone formations. As the elevation increases, the vegetation changes constantly, eventually giving way to the open tussock plateau around Granity Pass Hut. From there, the tarns are scattered amongst the tussocks, creating little pockets of water amongst the unusual terrain. After an afternoon of gentle breezes, the air became completely still as the sun began to drop. The tarns at the base of Mt Owen were transformed by the evening light, the surrounding tussock glowing in rich orangey-gold tones and the still tarns reflecting the surrounding mountains.
View the painting in progress here.
Despite having walked, biked, driven past & slept in the back of a yellow hilux when I was little, and many times camping since at Lake Tennyson over the years, I'd never gone for a stroll around the Lake. We'd planned to visit the area in a fine weather window that looked perfect to re-study the Princess Stream Tarns also in the area. Unfortunately the morning we were to leave, the local St James very helpful weatherman Mark Inglis (I do follow his posts very closely to keep an eye on conditions in the area) put some photos up showing quite a lot of snow coverage. I'd be hoping it would just rain...it did not, his wife Anne then sent photos of more extensive snow coverage from her heli drop...
This particular fisherman's hut immediately caught my eye, tucked remarkably close to a large schist rock, its tiny proportions and wonderfully simple construction make it an intriguing feature within the vast landscape on this sunbathed morning. There is something particularly appealing about the contrast between the small...
