I'm reposting this here, as it fortuitously fit with the Inspiration Challenge and I literally posted it to image sharing a couple of hours before the launch ;)

I've had a bit more time recently to practice watercolour, with the summer holidays here in Melbourne, though managing washes at 35-40 degrees Celsius is a challenge in itself! The below is my latest. I'm reasonably pleased with the progress I'm making. I'm trying out different ways to paint eucalypts trees, which I struggle with given how sparse and full of skyholes these are. I also focussed a lot on the different shades in the water, and trying to make a rocky shoreline work without detracting from the tree as the main subject (only partially successful in my view).

The image is based on a view of Port Arthur in Tasmania, looking over the small island named the Isle of the Dead. It's a beautiful place which belies a disturbing history - first for the atrocities carried out against the Aboriginal inhabitants in the early 1800s, and then as a penal colony in the 1830s. The Isle of the Dead is so named as it served as the prison's cemetery.

Any comments welcome!