Spring sun in Hotham Park

Today I joined the fortnightly sketchers in Hotham Park again and was surprised how much springing has gone on. I know it happens every year but somehow always comes as a delightful surprise.

Winter in the park

A couple of days ago I made a chilly visit to Hotham Park where I caught up with John the gardener on his trusty steed. During winter there is a lot of trimming  weeding and tidying to do be done. A few volunteers meet on Wednesdays to help but the task of keeping the park…

Winter Sketching

There was a bitter biting wind wind when I arrived in Hotham park for our fortnightly sketching group. We normally sketch outside for an hour then into the cafe for coffee and share but today the three of us migrated to the warm cafe to sketch from the windows there. I did manage one sketch…

Santas Train in the Park

For three Saturdays Boris the train has been turned into Santa’s express,well maybe forget the express bit, complete with a grotto in this little shed. He trundles round the park as usual but ends in the grotto. In view of the current train crisis at least this one is reliable!

Winter sun

Since my last trip to the park I  have succumbed to a seasonal cold which has rather cramped my stye but I took these shots of the place I sketched last time. The light was lovely and I wished I had more time before I had to stop.

Goodbye old friend

Yesterday as I wandered around the Park I visited one of my favourite places, a rather wild area with a very old Elderberry tree in it. On the way I noticed  the tree surgeons removing dead branches from tall trees. When I arrived to say hello to my tree I found it had been sawn…

A cold sketch

This morning there was a heavy frost so I went to the sketching group at the park well wrapped up. The light was amazing and the hour went by very quickly. Nearly all the leaves are off the trees now and their bones show an amazing range of colours  in the winter sun.

Autumn bluster and bling in the park

Last week I sat on cold sunny day to do some pastel sketching but today I joined the sketching group for our fortnightly draw. We were very quickly forced to the shelter of the cafe as the wind came up bringing sideways rain with it. The small pavilion I was in had not provided protection…

There’s gold in that there Park

A couple of days ago I posted plein-air pastel sketches. I usually  take a few photos too. The frosts and wind will soon put an end to the show but if you are prepared to look in some of the hidden places gold can still be found.