UTOPIA

Bush Medicine, Jeannie Petyarre, Utopia Central Australia, Acrylic on Canvas.

This is my new painting, bought at Kuranda on our recent trip.

By Australian Indigenous artist Jeannie Petyarre, it is not art from North Queensland, but art of the Central Desert...

Jeannie lives at Utopia, located about 300kms north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Her works have been exhibited in many group exhibitions, and are held in many collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
She is a highly respected artist within her community, promoting her culture, country, seasons and ceremonies via her paintings.  

Jeannie's Aunt is the late, very famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye, my absolute favourite of Australia's indigenous artists.
(I could never afford one of her paintings!!)

The women of Utopia paint in contemporary acrylics, abstract works which reference the fruits, flowers, and colours of the desert.
Born in 1950, Jeannie began painting in 1988 when a group of women in the area began producing Batik work in desert designs on silk and cotton.
Encouraged by her aunt, she moved on to modern acrylics, painting the traditional stories of her family which refer to Bush Medicine, Yams and Wildflowers.

The Central Desert art movement is a contemporary descendant of the ancient forms of indigenous art, sand-painting on the desert floor, and body art practice.

Can't wait to have my new painting mounted, and up on the wall in the Cardinal nest...

and while in Kuranda, we went to the Butterfly House.
This is moi, festooned in butterfies, encouraging them by wearing my new top from Ottawa...

Well, that was a first, I've never had butterflies perch on me before..

Hope your week flutters along nicely.

We are off on another little jaunt, very soon...

XXXX

IN THE TROPICS

Last week we flew to North Queensland for a bit of sun, combining business with pleasure.

The Great Barrier Reef looks fabulous from the air ...

photo does not do justice to the gorgeous turquoise of the sea, the reefs and tiny islands...

In the tropical rainforest in the mountains above Cairns lies the village of Kuranda.  Europeans began to explore the area in the nineteenth century,

and a railway from Cairns reached Kuranda in 1891.

The historic platform is dressed in masses of tropical ferns and plants,

earning it the name of Australia's Greenest Railway Station.

The area has been home to the indigenous Djabugay people for over 10,000 years, and many of the locals are now involved in the tourist industry.  There are many attractions here based on the flora and fauna of the area, and many art galleries.  I bought myself a painting, which I will show in another post.

Here comes the train ...

On the nearby Barron River, a Rainforest Tour ...

This World Heritage Listed rainforest is full of lush flowering vines and trees ..

and the river is home to some interesting creatures:

Can you see his eye and snout just above the water?

Thanks be to strong telephoto lenses!!

The Barron Falls, whose waters are harnessed by a hydro-electric power station down in the gorge.

Have a lovely and sunny weekend XXXX

A NEW PRINCE

Substitute baby: our Little Bebe grandson as a newborn..

We are Blue!

A little Prince has been born to Prince William and Catherine in London...

Now they are a family...and we wish them every happiness with their new baby boy...

Did they know?  We'll never know...

but I always wondered about the blue baby stroller Kate purchased a while ago...

Sending Blue-birds of Happiness

and drinking a toast in English tea to the new Heir to the Throne...

And now the fun of name-guessing:

Many people think George ... but why?  Is it time for a King George VII?

Philip, Henry, Edward or Charles are some of the names I think could be favoured...

Won't it be fun watching him grow, and considering who he resembles?

Just like our own grandsons ...

And this is where we have been this week:

More later ...

XXXX

THREE LITTLE BOYS

So, how are the grandchildren, I hear you ask?

Little Bebe in Canada has advanced to exploration and reconnaissance of his environment -

or as my daughter wrote "And so it begins ...."

Life will never be the same in that house - 

for a couple of years anyway ...

By the lake on Canada Day..

His Big Boy Brother plays with a chipmunk..

and swims in the lake..

Little Aussie, our Australian grandson, has advanced to superior mask-making and has become an Owl!!

He knows Grannie loves birds..

I made a leopard print Tee the other day -

fairly boring sewing, but a useful item...

This orchid has become the gift which keeps on giving..

I do nothing, just water it weekly, and it rewards with the most beautiful trails of orchids every few months...

Well, I'm off for a few days in the sun..

Au Revoir!

xxxx