PMQ2024: Heading inland

December 23, 2024 | 1 Comment


After four days focused on the beaches of Port Macquarie (see previous articles here), I thought it was time to head inland. In particular, I wanted to visit the Bago Maze between Port Macquarie and Wauchope.

But first, I had a coffee and sketching session with Meg at Flynns. I couldn’t have a sketching day without capturing some rocks and waves, could I?


I arrived early and managed to get the only bench in the shade at the beach. There were some nice strong shadows which I started with.

Then as we talked I did a few line drawings of the beach with a turquoise Posca – combining them into the one image.

I also started a third spread but didn’t get to finish this sketch or the page.


After the beach sketching session, I picked up my friend V, and we drove towards Wauchope, heading for the Bago Winery. It was a lovely warm day and the winery was very quiet.

Here is a photo of the setting – tables in the shade overlooking the maze.


While waiting for our coffees, I did a quick sketch of the view.

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And then started the big task of drawing the maze. It was quite difficult and I had to distort it at the beginning in order to fit it on my page.

I think it took about 45 minutes to sketch this, which is comparable to the average time it takes to go through the maze.


Here is a ‘hero shot’ with the maze in the background.


Next, we visited Bottlebutt, a 200-year-old Red Bloodwood tree. I don’t like driving on narrow, unsealed roads – especially when I’m on my own. So it was good to have a friend in the car to help spot the bad pot-holes.

The tree was very impressive, with a 16m girth, but I haven’t been able to find out how tall it is!

It was hard to fit on the page.


One more view of the tree and some fungi my friend found nearby.


At night, I had another fun dinner with the gang—this time at the lovely Japanese restaurant Ichi. I was a bit too involved in the conversation to concentrate on my sketching, so this is an example of reflex sketching.


One of the guys took my sketchbook to the kitchen to get the staff to sign my book. It was fun getting the Japanese chefs to use my Japanese Fude de Mannen pen to write their names!

Such a wonderful day!

1 Comment

  • Jamie C says:

    Sketching that maze must have felt like such an accomplishment when you finished! Amazing! Love the signatures in the book, too. Great way to make memories and keep them!

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