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.

Outback pen and ink artwork from Alan J. Benge

In this whimsical pen and ink drawing, I have depicted a cowhand, coming to town after hours in the saddle. Colour washes were added to highlight the buildings and main street of this Australian outback town.
I like to think that the horse is having a laugh at the bow-legged appearance of its rider !  On the right hand side of the picture, I've drawn in a typical old Aussie pub, with other similarly bow-legged cowhands looking on.  In creating this composition, use was also made of splatter for textural effects, plus highlights with coloured pencils to achieve some of the more subtle graduations in tone.