Plein Air Down Under 2024

I returned to Mandurah for my third year participating in the Plein Air Down Under (PADU) Festival. I'd intended to have done some training since last year, either a landscapes course or to become more familiar with gouache, however I didn't quite achieve it. I'm in the middle of a gouache course and hope to pick that up again and complete it soon, especially as I'm currently inspired to paint after the festival. So for the festival I stuck with watercolours once again.

Jump to:

• Materials
• Fun Outside with Watercolour
• Day 1 Mandurah
• Day 2 Pinjarra
• Day 3 Quick Draw
• Conclusion (& links to buy)

Materials

• Gurney sketch easel and Helinox Chair One (see photos below)
• Hahnemühle Cezanne rough or cold-press watercolour paper 300 gsm 24 x 32 cm
• Escoda brushes (Aquario mop #14, 18 as well as an Etchr size 8 round and Silver Black Velvet rigger #1
• Art Spectrum landscape set of 10 in a palette with deep wells and lots of space for mixing, with occasional yellows from my Schmincke Horadam set
• Washi tape from Bunnings (works great for clean edges) - apparently it is better to have a neutral colour rather than blue as it can affect your colours on the paper. I have since bought a natural cream masking tape from Officeworks to use instead.

Fun Outside with Watercolour

Friday 20th September

This year I participated in a workshop before the festival weekend, a first for me. Gordon Alexander from Perth gave a watercolour workshop at Doddi's Beach in Halls Head. Not only was it a great opportunity to get back into the groove of painting en plein air again, Gordon also gave great tips and helpful feedback and shared his inspiring sketchbooks.

My takeaways were:

• Use soft edges, simplifying and atmospheric perspective to push the background out further and keep the focus simple
• Keeping my paints wet so they remain juicy and full of pigment, rather than dilute and watery. Spraying them well in advance allows the dried paint to absorb the moisture by the time you're ready to add paint to paper. I refilled my spray bottle multiple times during the weekend and it made me realise how thirsty paints get. One comment that struck a note was considering how quickly the paper dries - paints dry that quickly too!
• Taping large pieces of paper to create smaller areas that are less intimidating, take less time to complete and therefore more fun (I certainly feel more comfortable working between A5 - A4 size)
• Using as few strokes as possible. I loved the comment that watercolours are like golf - you win with the fewest strokes. Keeping your brushstrokes to a minimum avoids muddying colours and losing the brightness of the paper.

That evening I also attended the Artist's Welcome at Leon Holmes gallery. I enjoyed meeting some of the other artists and wandering around the beautiful gardens and inside the gallery to admire his work. My favourites are his Rottnest water scenes - I'd love to be able to evoke the same with watercolour.

Day 1

Mandurah PAC and Dolphin Quay

This first day was a bit different to usual in that the foreshore was being redeveloped and so the footprint was around the Performing Arts Centre and Dolphin Quay. There were workshops held in the morning but I wasn't interested in attending them, instead I walked to the Rainbow Pathway connecting to Dolphin Quay and started painting there.

I wasn't sure if I wanted this to be the submitted painting so did a quick sketch then a practice in my Etchr sketchbook. The paper was acting up and I think I got impatient by the end when I did the rainbow stripes, so it didn't quite work out how I hoped but was good practice for adding figures and composition. There were mosquitos around too so I was happy to move on.

After lunch at Dolphin Quay with Cat (another artist friend participating) I found a spot by the water. I remembered to do thumbnail sketches and squint for values. However I did find my composition a bit boring and thought adding a painter on the jetty would help, but they were probably too small in the end. I also struggled with the background, over-darkening it in my attempt to keep it soft and details to a minimum.

A dolphin appeared briefly and there were some cormorants and gulls flying or swimming on the water. A pelican floated past searching for food at a steady pace. It gave me the idea to focus on my strengths (animals more than landscapes) that I tried at Pinjarra the next day. I felt too intimidated to try much human architecture although the marine animal sculptures looked like fun to include and I loved others' paintings featuring them.

Cat and I finished our paintings by Dolphin Quay then headed back to Mandjar Bay. There was a little time left to do one more painting before submitting. The lighting was beautiful, casting a peachy glow on the rocks of the little island. Two cormorants were drying their wings and resting so I sketched them in my Etchr book. I still think they're my favourite paintings of the ones I completed throughout the whole festival. There's a mental freedom to painting in a sketchbook that allows you to relax and do better work.

It was lovely to wander around and look at other artists' work throughout the day. We had a nice visit from some of the Ray White Mandurah team who brought water and general support. They did a fantastic job hosting Day 1. The paella is such a treat to eat after a long day. Once our paintings were submitted we could admire everyone's submissions from the Experience Peel Paint Outs and the Spirit of the Landscape Exhibition. It was also relaxing and entertaining to listen to the artist panel that evening.

Day 2

Pinjarra

The conditions were perfect on the second day in Pinjarra. I applied sunscreen but still felt like I was burning under the morning sun. My subjects were a small flock of 4 ringneck parrots eating seeds in the long grass behind the Edenvale complex. They stayed long enough for me to get a good full page of sketches and draw one from life, but were gone by the time I started painting.

I tried Gordon's trick of dividing my large sheet into smaller sections and added the parrot in the grass in the bottom left corner. I next searched for a different bird and followed some magpies. One landed on a bench and would have been interesting compositionally, but moved on almost instantly. I spied another magpie on a branch that hung around, and completed my painting of it before lunch.

My partner and friends caught up with me at lunchtime where we enjoyed the market stall food (Japanese okonomiyaki) and then I wandered around the river looking for another bird for my final 'window' on the page. I nearly decided to do the ducks by the pedestrian bridge but they were moving about too much and there was not much shade around. I ended up not far from where I'd been in the morning, settling on the placid river scene.

The drawing stage went well but I got a bit unstuck while painting. The complicated scene, changing light on the water and rapidly dwindling concentration made me struggle. I took a bit of a break, tried to reassess what needed to be done and pulled it together again, but learned that I probably shouldn't leave the hardest for the end of the day.

Cat and I drove back to the PAC and submitted our artworks then went home, skipping the artists dinner at Oceanside Bar & Grill because we were too exhausted!

Day 3

Quick draw at Mandurah

I knew for the Quick Draw where I wanted to paint, I just had to cross my fingers and hope that my subject would appear. It was a gamble but when I walked over with my (heavy) bag of art supplies I gave a little whoop for joy at seeing some birds on the rocks of the island. Another artist was also setup there and I found out she'd painted the "Shag on the rocks" on Day 1, essentially what I was going to attempt now! This time she was just focusing on the island itself.

I got some sketches done and took notes on everything I thought I would need for my painting. I also mixed my colours and swatched them next to a thumbnail. I felt prepared, and it was good because just before the horn sounded to start the Quick Draw the Australasian Darter and cormorant swam away, not to return there again.

Referring to my notes I drew in the darter on the rocks on the tip of the island and the shadows. Someone during the festival had at one point said "if you have a brush in hand you naturally want to slap paint on the canvas".

However, it pays to restrain that urge. To instead stay back, carefully consider each step and then stop.

My fear of messing up kept me from rushing onwards without thought and I truly felt that everything I had learned from the festival was coming together at that moment. There were still moments of panic or frustration - for instance the cormorant landing in the tree above (why not back on the rocks!?) and being warned that last time they did leave droppings. Our timers helped keep us on our toes but I managed to finish and pack up on time without stress. Passers-by seemed to like my painting (and I did too).

Back at the PAC we set up our easels to display for judging and sell to the public (alas no one bought any of my works this time). I got more good feedback and felt on top of the world with the festival atmosphere. We were then invited inside to look at the gallery of everyone's submitted paintings from the first two days, eat a light lunch and listen to the awards being announced.

Conclusion

This is such a fantastic festival for all it offers; friendly peers, stunning locations and great opportunities to improve and network. I love attending and each time feel more inspired to paint en plein air. The skills of drawing and painting from real life, outdoors and amongst other artists are incredibly helpful for being able to draw quickly, accurately and to learn from mistakes.

Looking to buy?

If you wish to purchase any of the paintings* you can do so at my shop:

*Paintings from Day 1 and Day 2 will be added to the shop in late November.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Let me know if you have a favourite and why, can you see any improvement or have some advice to offer?