Introducing Alice

For our first trip to Menindee the Fella and I decided to camp in a tent. We scoured camping shops to find the right one. For me the main consideration was that it be easy to put up and take down. We eventually found one. October came, we packed everything in the back of the ute and took off. Well, the result of us camping in a tent was to decide to buy a caravan!

My main memory of why is of the packing up. We would begin early and still be putting things in boxes, taking them out of boxes and getting frustrated with each other, while caravans smoothly hitched up and went on their way. Also there was no proper lighting in the tent, and that didn’t help either. Thank heavens for the back lighting on my iPad.

The tent (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2012)

So Alice the Caravan came into our lives. We looked at lots, in fact an overwhelming number. We quickly decided that we didn’t need three rooms in the van, nor a washing machine. I decided that I didn’t like most of the interior decoration and colours. You know how it is when you are looking for something, nothing seems right. Then a friend told us to look at a van in the front yard of a place near him. And there was Alice!

Alice at the Flinders Ranges  (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2012)

Like us, she’s not young, but loves an adventure. She doesn’t have an indoor shower or loo, and sometimes, at night, that’s a nuisance. Nor does she have a washing machine. But she does have a little wardrobe with a mirror, and lots of cupboards, a microwave and a dinky exhaust fan over the stove. Everything is very compact. When we are sitting at the table we can reach the sink and the fridge without getting up!

There is a good light over the table. It is a great place to sketch and write. And her crowning glory is her colour scheme — light blue and grey. Not the horrid salmons and pinks of other vans. She has the cutest little blue curtains, with ruffles along the top. Awww…..

On the road. An art-farty shot of Alice travelling behind us. (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2012

The view of Copi Hollow Lake, Menindee, taken out of the window. (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2012)

Why did I call her Alice?

After my grandmother. My grandparents were early caravaners. My grandfather made his own and took the family away to have adventures down at the beach or up in the bush. My grandmother loved travelling, and nothing would faze her.

“Alice, let’s go to the beach,” Grandpa would say, and Nanna would pack up the van and the kids.

Her spirit is strong in Alice the caravan. The name seemed right, from the first time I thought it. I love the idea of saying to Alice the caravan “Let’s go to the beach…the Grampians…Menindee” and her saying back “Yep, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

So let there be lots more adventures!

Alice’s name plaque always brings a smile to my face. My lovely sister cross-stitched this Christmas present for me. :))    (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2012)

Meeka’s Music Challenge

Colin threw down the gauntlet to Meeka, who threw it out to us. Metan picked it up. Now here are my offerings. The challenge was to blog about the music from your favourite decade. I don’t really have a favourite decade. Music comes to me from different times and styles, from classical to country, and from a range of sources too.

However, to be reasonably true to the challenge, I have interpreted it as music that reminds me of a period in my life. It’s around the mid 70s. I was involved with a chap who loved music, collected it, listened to it, remembered it and spoke about it. Never have I  been so immersed in music. We went to hear bands in pubs, including Skyhooks, and we listened to tapes in the car as we travelled the long distance to our Queensland holidays. Countdown was new and exciting. Everyone in the shared house would gather round the (new) colour TV to watch. I remember the stir Abba created with their Mama Mia video clip. Those lips! Was it the first we had seen?

So here are some songs that take me back to that time. (It was an interesting experience going down the wormhole of Youtube to find these. Links to forgotten bands and singers made it difficult to choose just these. There may be a Part 2.)

The first I thought of was Al Stewart’s The Year of the Cat, 1976. We owned the album and I loved looking at the album cover to see how many cat references I could find. I thought he was a one hit wonder, but it turns out he has produced 15 albums! Enjoy the flairs and hair in this clip. Good sax solo too.

I remember the first time I heard Joan Armitrading. We went to the Sunbury concert — Santana, Fleetwood Mac. It was great, but my standout moment was hearing Down to Zero playing as we arrived. I asked a friend who it was, and I thought they said “John Armitrading”. This one, Love and Affection, has stayed with me through the years, and stopped me wallowing in tears and self-pity many times. Again, a fabulous sax solo, and I just love the deep voice in the chorus.

Boulder to Birmingham has also stayed as one of my favourite songs, and Emmylou Harris one of my favourite artists. This clip is from a later period. There is no sax, just Emmylou’s clear and beautiful voice, supported by guitars, mandolin and harmonies.

Then Bruce Springsteen burst onto our turntable. This clip of Born to Run captures the energy and the power of the band. And yep, there is a saxaphone! Not the solo of Jungle Road, but still pretty damn good.

Now, to calm us all down…Gordon Lightfoot was another who provided the soundtrack to my life then. If you Could Read My Mind Love takes me back there.

I couldn’t leave this journey without a Bob Seger. He always reminds me of a housemate who had a crush on a friend of a friend because the friend looked like Bob Segar! She did keep a pet duck in her room, so maybe her view on life was a bit skewed. Anyway, here is a much older Bob, with a surprise guest. And yes, by chance, there is a saxophone solo in it!

Thanks for following me on my indulgent nostalgia. I would love to hear of your favourites. Leave me a comment  🙂

 

Women’s Peace Garden, Newmarket Saleyards and the Maribyrnong River

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

We have had some glorious Autumn weather in Melbourne the last couple of days. I decided my walk would be also be an exploration.Two or three times a week, perhaps even more, I travel down Epsom Road, through Kensington. For a long time I have seen a sign pointing to the Women’s Peace Garden, but have never seen any real indication of where it is. Now a larger sign has been erected on the road. This was the day to find out more.

This is the view that I now see from the car.

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

So I went through the entrance, under the Morten Bay figs and down the steps,

past the mosaic,

The mosaic, in the Women’s Movement colours of green, purple and white

to see the garden spread out below you. It has been designed with the peace symbol and the woman symbol in mind. You can see the peace symbol easily on the grass. The other is more difficult. The bluestone colonnades at the bottom form the cross. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a photo of that.

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

 

The garden was built in 1986 to commemorate the International Year of Peace. It was designed by a team of women and is now maintained by the community and local schools. The plants were chosen to fit with the colours of the Women’s Movement — green, purple and white — and to symbolise remembrance — the peace rose, rosemary and olive trees.

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

The Women’s Peace Garden, (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson 2015)

I sat for a while and did a very poor sketch of the garden. As well I thought about war and peace, soldiers and civilians. Australia has recently celebrated ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), our day of remembrance. I have a very ambivalent attitude to ANZAC Day, as so I was grateful to find a place where peace was celebrated and the innocents of war cherished.

This garden has been built on the old Newmarket Saleyards. They were built in the 1850’s and by the twentieth century they were amongst the biggest saleyards and abattoirs in the world. They closed in the 1980’s. When I first lived in the local area I remember hearing the bellowing of the cattle, and if the wind was blowing from the south the smell was not pleasant either.

After they were sold the yards were developed into medium density housing, the first in the area. As I wandered through the other day I was impressed with how the development had been done. There is a lovely tangle of streets, lanes and mews. The houses seem to open to walking lanes and many of the old peppercorns have been kept. The heritage of the area has been remembered with the bluestone paths and post and rail fences. I wandered along the old stock route to the Maribyrnong River. These photos might give you a little feel for the place.

Bluestone paths, post and rail fences, peppercorn trees.(Photo copyright: Anne Lawson)

The road narrows so that cars have to give way to pedestrians and on-coming cars. (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson)

And finally, some images of the Maribyrnong River from the bridge the cattle used to cross on.

The city from the bridge. The water was so smooth. (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson)

The bridge (Photo copyright: Anne Lawson)

Thank you for joining me on my meander on a beautiful Melbourne day.

*************************************************************************************

Every fortnight I send out a letter about my art. It arrives straight into your inbox. And when you sign up you get a free ink feather drawing of mine. Just click here .

The art of science

The art of science: Remarkable natural history from Museum Victoria

The other day I had a day trip to Mornington, down on Port Phillip Bay. It was a glorious day, about 30 degrees, and lunch on the Mornington Pier was just perfect. However the reason we went down there was to go to this exhibition.

Mornington is lucky to have such a prestigious gallery, that curates some outstanding exhibitions. This one is no exception — but an exhibition of scientific illustration was bound to appeal to me!

It is a touring exhibition, organised by Museum Victoria. As the brochure says

Museum Victoria’s archive of artworks, working drawings and rare books traces the development of scientific art and provides a glimpse into a world of uncommon beauty.

What incredible archives they must have!

Like botanical art, scientific illustrations of animals must be accurate enough to use for identification. At the same time there needs to be the artistic component. Composition plays a vital role to make the art work as dynamic as possible, as well as to put the creature within an environmental context. John James Audubon’s bird engravings are high class examples of this, and there are about half a dozen of his works  to drool over in this exhibition.

It was fascinating to follow the development of understanding of animals. European naturalists often first encountered Australian animals in the form of dried skins, or as specimens preserved in alcohol. From these they had to recreate creatures that were very exotic.

Later, after European settlement in Australia, naturalists had the chance to observe live animals. It also coincided with the golden age of science, when life forms were being collected, classified, dissected. Here were some of my favourites in the exhibition. Ludwig Becker’s Weedy Seadragon (incidentally, Victoria’s marine emblem), Arthur Bartholomew’s sublime illustrations of frogs and John Gould’s bird lithographs.

Developments in paleontology expanded our knowledge of extinct fauna. Peter Trusler works closely with paleontologists to create fossil drawings that are mind blowingly exact and lifelike. Of course digital photos have given scientists so much more understanding of the micro level, and there are some stunning ones by Ken Walker in the exhibition.

Fortunately Museum Victoria recognises the importance of continuing the tradition of scientific art. Contemporary artists, including two of my tutors, Mali Moir and Kate Nolan, have worked with the Museum and have works of art in the exhibition.

The Museum Victoria website has digital images of quite a number of the works I have mentioned. It is worth a browse around. And have a play with the egg/butterfly display. There was a full size version of that and I was delighted with the exquisite shapes, colours and textures of the eggs.

If this has fueled your desire to see the exhibition, I am sorry to say that it will finish at Mornington in a few days. However, it is a touring exhibition and will be going to Adelaide, Ballarat, Mildura, Gippsland and Sydney. Tour dates and places here.

 

Hermann Beckler

For those of you who have been following my blog for a little while (and thank you to all who do follow) will know that I am involved in a project connecting botanical art with the Burke and Wills Expedition of 1860. If you don’t know what I am talking about, and would like to, either click on the Beckler’s Botanical Bounty category on the right sidebar, or click here.

I have been helping to set up a blog to explain that project. So if you are interested in finding out more then click the link, have a look and maybe join the community.

http://becklersbotanical.blogspot.com.au/

This is the beginning of today’s post about Hermann Beckler and why he has inspired us. Future posts will be about the people involved in the project, the plants we are painting, and some of the sights we see up in the Big Sky Country of Menindee.

Dr Hermann Beckler left Bavaria and arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland in 1856. Aged 27, he bought his Munich medical qualifications and a consuming desire to explore Australia’s interior and to collect specimens. While in Queensland he corresponded with Ferdinand Mueller, Victoria’s first government botanist.

Beckler was excited by news from Mueller about the possibility of a job collecting plant specimens. So he joined a party droving sheep down through inland New South Wales to meet Mueller in Melbourne. He was given a job to help organise the growing Australian collection in Victoria’s herbarium, and he developed his knowledge of Australian plants.

Continued on Beckler’s Botanical Bounty

Starting to paint my painting — or practising for the practice piece!

I am going to create a watercolour painting of my plant from Menindee, Cullen discolor. I have already written about identifying it, and the Beckler’s Botanical Bounty Project that I am involved in.

 

Cullen discolor growing at Menindee. It loves the sandy red soils.

A small section of the stem that I will eventually paint.

Now to show you some of the process.

I am still a developing watercolour artist, and feel much more comfortable with pencil than a paint brush. I have begun with a practice piece, as I have to work my way through the colours and techniques that I will need for the final painting.

Actually, before that, I want to show you some detailed drawings of parts of C. discolor. These were from the live specimens I had when working in Menindee. I wanted to get as much visual information as possible while I still had the living plant.

Drawings of C. discolor, from my sketch book

I needed to match the colours as accurately as possible while I had the specimen before me. I made various mixes and recorded the paints I had used. You can also see some of my notes and reminders.

Then I began the practice piece. Actually, it was the practice practice piece. As I was painting it I had a crisis of confidence, as I had forgotten how to paint with watercolour washes and do dry brush work. All I could remember were the faults with my technique, especially rushing to the detail too quickly and too much water.

After I had calmed myself down, I went back to basics. That’s the bigger leaf in this painting. I went bigger, slower and thought about what I was doing with each stroke. That helped me to understand how I needed to approach the work. And helped me realise that I could do this after all!

The practice practice painting.

Thank heavens it was not the final, large work on the good (read expensive) paper! Finally I felt ready to begin the real practice painting.

The practice painting — still to be finished, but almost there.

I still have to finish this painting. Obviously the stems need to be painted in. The leaves need more work, which involves a lot more dry brush work. And they need highlights added to their edges. However, I am happy I have captured the texture of the leaves. (Remember, part of the identification for C. discolor is that the leaves are tomentose to hispid —  rough, with hairs between stiff and soft/matted.) As well, I think I understand how to paint the furriness of the inflorescences. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say! Stay tuned for progress reports.

Collecting a plant specimen

Despite me interrupting myself with posts about books and flowers, I am following a thread of the Beckler’s Botanical Bounty Project. Have a look here to see what this project is and here and here to find out about plant identification.

After the plant has been accurately identified it needs to be collected, labelled and pressed. (It is illegal to pick wildflowers in Australia. We have a permit that allows us to do so.)

Keep in mind that you can only collect a small percentage of the plants in the area. We needed 4 specimens — a maximum of 5% of all of that species around. If it was a specimen from tree or bush it could only be 5% of that plant.

In the field

Undoing the press

Tabloid-size newspaper is laid so that one sheet is inside the other and so the writing is upside down. The scientific reason for doing this? So you wont be distracted by reading the articles!

If the specimen is too long it is bent, not cut. To help with identification it is necessary to include as many different parts of the plant as possible, including the root.

Attaching the tag

A tag, which includes the label number and plant name, is attached to the plant. This helps to keep track of the specimens. A collector will have many in the press by the end of the trip.

Folding the paper over the specimen — not easy to do on windy days!

The name of the specimen is written on the end of the newspaper. It is another way to help keep track of the specimens. As well it saves having to open each one when looking for a particular specimen.

Firmly tying up the press.

This process had to be repeated for 4 specimens of the plant. One will go to the National Herbarium of Victoria in Melbourne, as that is where Beckler’s specimens are. We are collecting in New South Wales, so, as a courtesy, one will go to the Herbarium of New South Wales in Sydney. One is for our own collection. Then there is the specimen we use for the painting.

Lastly, and very importantly, the label needs to be filled in. On this pad is recorded as much detail as possible about where the plant was collected. What is the habitat like? The soil type? Are there weeds about? Is it prolific? Under which trees? GPS co-ordinates will help future collectors know where to begin to look.

Plant identification #2

Correct plant identification is not only important to make sure it is on Beckler’s plant list. 

Botanic art can be defined as ‘making science visible’. Its fundamental purpose is to help both scientists and lay people identify plants. Botanic art is not a still life painting of roses in a vase. It is an accurate painting that clearly shows the parts of a plant which allow the identification of that plant. So, a botanic painting of a rose would include details such as the shape, colour, form, leaves and probably hips — the aspects that allow it to be identified as a particular variety or species.

However, there is the artistic aspect and it is important. The artist makes the decisions on the medium to use, the composition of the painting, the focal point, the size and so on. The painting allows the personality of the artist to come through.

Cullen discolor

I don’t profess to be a top class botanic artist, and my painting skills are still developing. However, I am part of Beckler’s Botanical Bounty Project, which, in turn, is part of the tradition of botany in Australia. My painting needs to be accurate.

To be able to make my painting of Cullen discolor as accurate as possible I need to understand ‘tomentose to hispid’. My painting should show a surface that is between matted soft hairs and rough firm hairs. Whether it does is up to my painting skill. I need to know that the petioles are between 2 and 7 cms long so that my drawing doesn’t make them too long or too short. And so on.

My notes

As well, it is interesting to know that C. discolor grows in sandy soils, flowers September to January and is endangered in Victoria. Not many people know what C. discolor looks like. Nor do they know C. pallidum or C. cinereum. They are unlikely to look at my paintings and say “That’s not right”. However I will know and I want it to be as correct as my skills will let me. And it may just be used as an identification tool sometime in the future.

Plant identification

“Is it on the List?”

Hermann Beckler collected 120 different species of plants around Menindee. It is that list that the Beckler Botanical Bounty Project is using. So correct identification is very important!

The type of habitat where we were searching for our plants

I am a gardener, not a botanist. I find it hard to hold the Latin names in my head. I have no idea of many of the botanical plant terms. So identifying plants was a huge learning curve for me — and I am still only a little way on that curve!

We have been so lucky to have had the support of a botanist whose work takes him regularly to Kinchega National Park.  As you walk with him he points to plants and says, “That’s a so and so (fill in Latin plant name here), that’s a such and such (add different Latin name). That one over there is on Beckler’s list, this one isn’t.” So he was able to help sort plants in the field. That was a massive help.

Looking for the right plants

However much we would have liked it, he couldn’t always be with us. And sometimes he was unsure. So then it was back to the reference books.

I am working on plants from the genus Cullen. This year I was working on a species Cullen discolor. But I had to be sure that my identification was correct.

Cullen discolor

It is described as ‘a perennial herb with stems prostrate to 1.5 metres’. Okay, I get those terms. Then the description said ‘tomentose to hispid’. These I discover are descriptions of hairiness. Its leaves are pinnately 3 foliate, narrow to broad, lanceolate to elliptic and less pubescent on the upper surface. The margins are toothed. There are petioles and stipules, peduncles and calyxes — and I never got to dissect the flower, which has more specialised terminology!

Reference material

So, having nutted my way through the key, and gone to botanical dictionaries and other more knowledgeable people, I am confident that this is Cullen discolor.

“Perennial herb with stems prostrate to 1.5 metres.”

At least I knew that this Cullen was ‘on the list’. Some artists went through the identification process, only to find it was one that Beckler hadn’t collected. Then it was out into the bush again to repeat the process.

Hermann Beckler, botanical art and Menindee

Back in 1860 Hermann Beckler collected plant specimens during the Burke and Wills Expedition. (For posts about that check here and here.) Those specimens ended up in the Herbarium in Victoria. Now zoom forward 150 years to 2010, the 150th Anniversary of the Expedition.

There were a number of events and celebrations that year to mark the event. Mali Moir, respected and very talented botanic artist devised a botanic art project. After discussing her idea with some others the Beckler Botanical Bounty was begun. The idea was to go to Menindee, collect and press specimens of the same species that Beckler had collected. These specimens would sit alongside Beckler’s in the Herbarium. However, Mali’s truly fabulous inspiration was that each specimen would be painted. There is a list of 120 taxa collected in 1860 within 20km of Menindee. This list was the basis of our work.

So in 2010 the first group went to Menindee and began the process. I went in 2011 and 2012, and would love to be there again in 2013!

The Menindee post office

The mains street of Menindee

The Maiden Hotel

The broad process is that we identify the plant, collect it (with the correct permits, of course), press it and then start the painting. But things are not always that easy! Correctly identifying a plant can involve time, patience and some very thick reference books! Then there is a very good chance that it is not on Beckler’s list, so it is back outside again!

Some of the reference material we use for identification.

Collected specimens, ready to be pressed and stored

After the specimen is collected and pressed, the drawing and painting begins. If you are interested in finding out how individual artists go about their work you can follow the link to our Beckler’s Botanical Bounty Blog.