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.

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.