29.5 cm (w) x 21 cm (h), blue biro on grey paper.
Date produced: 1986 - 1987

As written on the drawing: “Midday, early afternoon - excellent for looking down upon the ocean from the top of the slope of the Bluff. Sunny colourful day, blue rich water.”

Witton Bluff is at Christies Beach, just south of Adelaide in South Australia. I lived near the Bluff for about a year and a half, and spent a lot of time there. It was an inspiring place, ideal for thinking about the natural world. From the top of the Bluff, you could see for miles out to sea. Down below the orange cliffs were shallow waters, carrying gentle, sweeping waves. Beneath the waves were flat expanses of dark rock, covered in green and ochre kelps, barnacles, periwinkles, starfish and a plethora of other small sea creatures.

This was drawn outside, on-site, directly from the real scene. With this drawing, I’ve tried to depict the elegant flowing curves of the steep banks of the Bluff, and the expanse of space out from the Bluff and over the water. I’ve used a grid on the surface of the water to provide visual clues as to how the surface was seen and felt in 3-dimensional space. In the foreground were ‘sour-sobs’ (little yellow wild flowers) bobbing in the fresh breeze.