Acrylic painting of Winton plains from escarpment viewpoint, North Queensland.

To travel out in North West Queensland is to be amazed at a panorama of desert, dust and incredible views from clifftop places.  When I went out to see the dinosaur footprints, we stopped at a lookout. 

This was the inspiration for my painting, which features a stockman, his horse and faithful dog, standing on the cliff, with a spectacular view to the horizon. Truly, Australia is the land of wide open spaces.  The artwork was completed on board, with a thin wash technique to portray the arid outback landscape.  

 In this outback painting, I used a limited palette of browns and muted greens plus black to convey the harsh desert terrain. The scene is derived from the countryside near Winton, North Queensland.  A lonely station hand rests in the shade on a hill overlooking a tree dotted plain.  His horse and dog sit nearby.  The painting is my attempt to capture the vast panoramic expanses that comprise inland Australia. They have a unique beauty of their own. 

Old building, Ravenswood Queensland painting by artist Alan J. Benge

Ravenswood in North Queensland is worth a visit to view the picturesque outback-style old buildings along its main street.  In this original composition, I used a limited palette of earthy colours, complemented by a pen and ink over-sketch with white highlights.  Use was made of splatter texture and the painting was created on an old sheet of plywood.  A simple wide white frame - with ribbed, corrugated iron-style lines - sets off the composition.
The texture could well signify an approaching dust storm, and it helps convey the magnificently harsh climate that all must learn to live with in the outback of Australia.

Old Roma Hotel acrylic painting by Al Benge

Roma, Queensland has some fine old pubs in the old Queensland traditional colonial style.  They represent an individuality from times past which is disappearing in this modern age.  My acrylic painting was accomplished with small, on the spot sketches initially, then I did a larger acrylic version back in my studio, using thick layers of paint. There is a certain amount of artistic licence here - the main street of Roma is certainly not dirt these days - but this is my interpretation of the scene.  The two pedestrians having a conversation in the middle of the road is not all unusual, the further West that you go.

Original painting - weatherbeaten Aussie outback stockman

It is said that the Australian outback produces characters who are truly individual. When I painted this portrait of a true Aussie stockman, I felt this face reflected something of the individual nature of this country.  To survive in such an inhospitable environment, people must be tough, resilient, and able to cope with demands that their city counterparts cannot comprehend.
It is these qualities that I have tried to capture in this study.
The palette of colours that I used in this painting involved primarily warm oranges and shades of beige, balanced with the blue/green tones on the shirt, and also in the lines portraying the face.  Shadows were made distinct to give the impression of a harsh Australian sun.