Salt Pile 20x25cm, acrylic on canvas board
Dry Lake Bed 15x20cm, acrylic on canvas board
palette
It's a funny thing. When you think of the pilbara you think red dirt, and lots of it. But this morning I sat down along the roadside to paint the really big pile of salt (read enormous) from across the dusty flats where Pretty Pool Creek winds its way inland. Although I drive passed there almost everyday, it only occurred to me this morning when I sat down to paint, how green it is. Not only that, the earth is not red. Not in the dry river flats. They are sandy. Raw sienna mixed with naples yellow.
The other funny thing that happened to me today is two people I know saw me painting. This is a first time event because I usually only painting 'plein air' when I am on holidays. But I promised a friend a painting of the pilbara and I have been wanting to paint Port Hedland since I have been here, I have just always found an excuse not too - too hot, too many flies, too windy, no one to look after Charlie... (Ella is at school for all of you who were about to call the Department of Human Services).
The final funny is that after approximately an hour and a half in the sun and wind, I had enough. I packed up, disappointed with two really lousy paintings wondering if this is the point where I just give up. At home I pulled out the paintings and the palette to fix a little spot that was annoying me and found myself spending another hour in the kitchen repainting. The skies were not right on either of them - I know, how hard can it be to paint a blue sky? You'd be surprised. I also retouched the foreground on both paintings and repainted the salt pile, which was a insipid white, to a bolder (slightly less insipid) white.
I'm not sure what I am going to do with these paintings. I have considered doing many and trying to sell them at the local craft market. Or maybe I will keep them as a reminder of my time in Port Hedland. The more I look at them the less I like them, but that is often the way it goes.
