Approx. 66 cm (w) x 46 cm (h), oil paints on stretched paper.
Date produced: While living at West Beach, after my first exhibition (1984-1986)

Down at the creek in the morning – a beautiful, clear and peaceful autumn morning. There is new growth all around. There are rich cool colours in the shadowed and half-shadowed areas, with plenty of ochres and golds lying in the sun. The clear blue sky overhead is reflected as deep blues and purples.

Such a beautifully cool gentle breeze – providing soft, delicate movements.

A school of small red fish bubble the surface of the water. The sounds are crisp and clear. The sun feels warm through my shirt.

It’s all so easy, and so peaceful for me – so enjoyable – so simple. I can smell the soil I’m sitting on. I can smell rich creek smells, and smell grasses warming in the sun. Everything is so clear and easy, and all happening together.

It is true adventure to look around and see what is here. It is bloody marvellous! A beautiful experience.

This was painted entirely on-site, at Barratt Reserve, West Beach.

This was only a two-session build-up towards a more worked overprinting, but I became precious with the freshness of the image as it was, so I stopped this painting here. Certainly, it shows the wide range of colours and tones that I was originally wishing to capture - it just doesn’t have the development or “finish” one normally expects.