French Masterpieces in the National Gallery, Canberra

It's been a while since my last post and that's because I took a couple of side trips over the last two weeks.  As well as visiting Taronga Zoo and sketching the giraffes with their gorgeous view of Sydney Harbour, I spent two days in Canberra with my wonderful Sydney hostess Di having a fantastic time (as usual with her--she spots fairies everywhere!).  

We stopped in the Southern Highland town of Mittagong for lunch and art-viewing at the Sturt Gallery, then noticed, upon arrival in Canberra, a 6 pm jazz concert in the National Botanic Gardens which we were just in time for!  No worries about being early to find parking or a spot on the lawn in Canberra, we just rocked up, past the giant kangaroos on the lawn, and found thousands of happy families enjoying the evening.  Some of the little girls were dressed up with fairy wings and flowing skirts so I spent most of the concert trying to quickly sketch them as they ran by playing.  Fairies don't stay still very long, that's for sure!  It was quite magical, with all the gum trees, people picnicking on the lawns, music floating through the air, as dusk approached.

What to do after that but find dinner and I was delighted to finally find an outstanding Szechuan restaurant that served their special spicy green beans in Australia.  Of course, you have to go to Canberra to get them!!  

And the next day, the exhibition of mostly French impressionists & post-impressionists from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris was stunning.  One Degas, 2 Monets, 5 Van Goghs including the spectacular Starry Night painting which I've never seen before, and lots of Cezanne, Pisarro, Bonnard, and many other lesser known (to me) artists showing the change of painting over a few decades.  Every time I walked by Starry Night I almost cried, it was so beautiful and sparkling with colour, even after 120 years.  We spent the whole day in the National Gallery, although we had a quick tour of the National Portrait Gallery on the way out.  I suppose Ottawa and its museums and galleries must be a lot like Canberra so I suppose I should put that on my bucket list too so I can compare.  And maybe some day I'll have my paintings exhibited in both of those places....dreaming a little bit there!

Back to Sydney (emu spotting en route, by the way!) where yesterday we went to see the Australian ex-pat artist Rupert C. W. Bunny, who was the first and best-known in Paris of any Australian artist during the late 1800s and early 1900s.  Lovely light and beautiful women wearing flowing clothing, as well as reflections of la Belle Epoque life of Paris, filled his work. Well curated and worth seeing!

I'm now getting ready for a Vancouver friend to arrive next week--we'll spend some time together hiking and kayaking around the Sydney and Blue Mountains area before taking the beautiful coastal route down towards Melbourne.  Can I fit some painting in?  So much to do, so little time!!

Next posting I'll put some photos up, I promise!