Day Trippers

by Natalie Martin & Andrea Shaw

The spark for this exhibition came from a handful of conversations through the Autumn of ‘21 with us both longing for some change to our studio practices, more social connection and some much-needed adventure.

Our plan was to take day trips to begin exploring en plein air painting together and capture our wonderful coast and surroundings. In the months to come, restrictions and weather hindered our grand plan. Instead, we met closer to home, painting weekly down by Spring Creek in Torquay.

We both found our foray into working en plein air to be a really enjoyable challenge. We quickly realised how profoundly being surrounded by nature (for work) instantly shifted both of our conscious states, along with our visual perspectives and how this led us to create compositions, and marks that are new to both of us. We enjoyed rambling conversations of life and art and process along the way.

The body of work for Day Trippers includes gouache, watercolour, wax crayon and pastel mediums explored on paper. Works were created along Spring Creek at many different spots, within the Ironbark Basin and in the Otways at the beautiful Sheoak picnic ground. 

This was a joint exhibition by myself and Andrea Shaw. Held at In The Skies Art & Music in Lorne from December 18, 2021 - January 12, 2022.

There are a few remaining works, please refer to my Available Paintings page.

'Stand Here With Me'

'The Space Between'

'Home Time'

'Sheoak Picnic Ground #1'

'Wend'

'Sheoak Picnic Ground #2'

'Spring Creek #1'

'Spring Creek #2'

'Spring Creek Valley Yellow Gums #2'

'Otway verdancy'

'Spring Creek Trunks #2'

'Otway Mountain Ash #2'

'Spring Creek moonahs'

'The great green overwhelm, Sheoak Picnic Ground'

'Spring Creek #3'

'Teddy's'

'Spring Creek Valley Yellow Gums #1'

'Sheoak Picnic Ground #4'

'Spring Creek Trunks #1'

'Otway Mountain Ash #1'

'Moonahs by the sea'

'Ironbark basin'

'Spring Creek #4'

'Anglesea heath grass trees'

'Sunlit Ashmore gums'

'Sheoak Picnic Ground #3'

'Wind-whipped moonahs, Spring Creek'

'Spring Creek trunks #3'

'Creekside gums, Spring Creek'