I have been lucky enough to escape from my local area to take a short trip to see my sister in central Victoria as her ‘single social bubble’.
A trip to the Bendigo Art Gallery was a treat as their exhibition of Australian artist Brett Whiteley was still open and free to visit.
I’ve not been a fan of Whiteley’s art until seeing his works in real life, which is always the best way to get an understanding of an artist’s work, but his works including plants and animals were particularly interesting to me. I had not seen any of these works before or maybe I just hadn’t noticed. Anyway, my mind on Brett Whiteley has been changed.
After this artistic joy and a meal at the gallery café, we took a quick drive out to scope out the Oak Forest at Harcourt, in the La Larr Ba Gauwa Park as my sister’s walking group are planning a visit.
The Oak trees were planted by the Land Department in 1900, Quercus valonia, and other varieties planted as well, were supposed to provide acorns for use in the tanning and dying process. The conditions turned out to be unsuitable for Q. valonia but the other species, along with some Elm trees planted to protect the young oaks, managed to survive and have become an attractive place to visit.
Unfortunately, it was raining, and the roads were too potholed for the car we were in so we didn’t actually get to the Oak trees, but one day I will!
Source: lalarrbagauwa.harcourt.vic.au
The Moreton Bay Fig 1979 Brett Whiteley
The Flowerpot Pen 