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. 

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. 

Australian outback mailboxes - acrylic painting from Alan J. Benge

In this bold, earthy painting of outback Australia, I have tried to capture the vivid brownish red hues of this vast land. I balanced this with a brooding, steel blue sky.
 In rural regions, mailboxes represent a link, or a symbol of communication with the outside world.  Another communication link that I painted in this composition is the row of telephone poles, stretching off into the distance.
A windmill stands alone in the background.  I hope you like my original acrylic painting depicting life in the outback of Australia.