A Trip To The City

In the last days before New Year, my Wife and I went into the City as we had booked a Show at the Sydney Opera House that night. We thought we would make a day of it, and so booked the 6 Head waterfront restaurant at The Rocks.

We drove in and parked at The Sydney Opera House ($40.00 all-day parking), which is a pretty good rate and then set off to The Rocks to have breakfast and then wander around the shops and galleries before arriving at the restaurant.

After the restaurant, and after stopping for a quick photo opportunity outside, when caught the train and headed South, back down the City to spend some gift vouchers we received as Christmas presents.

I went to Eckersleys Art & Craft store and Susan went across the rock to the Yarn shop.

At Eckersley’s I purchased an Arches Travel Sketchbook & a set of Kuretake Gansai Tambi Art Nouveau Watercolours.

From there it was off to Dymocks bookstore where I purchased a book, and it’s companion volume. These days, when looking for Art-related books, I really want something different. I don’t want to buy books that replicate in some way, information that I already have. So far, I am very impressed with my purchase.

From there, we went over to The Sydney Opera House to view the Show, ‘Now You See Me’ – The Four Horseman which have been inspired by the movies about four Illusionists/Magicians.

The Show was very entertaining and under the direction of the performers the ausdience en masse got perform their own magic trick.

It was a wonderful day out and as you can see from the photos, we were well blessed with the weather.

Till next time!

Written & Photographed by David Johnson

3 January 2026

Things That Attract My Eye – Part 23

The following images were taken in May this year. We had a trip up to Millthorpe (near Bathurst/Orange/Blayney), NSW, in May for a good friend’s 60th Birthday party. Some of the images are from there, and others are around and about.

If you ever get a chance to visit the towns/cities mentioned above, please do so. Lots to see! Abercrombie House, just outside Bathurst is definitely a must. A three-storey mansion, built in 1870, where you can have lunch and do a self-guided mansion tour. I highly recommend it.

Till next time!

Written & Photographed by David Johnson

30 July 2025

Clouds Are Thoughts

Things That Attract My Eye – Part 22

It’s been a while since I added to this segment. The images below were taken in March and April this year. We’ve certainly had some beautiful skies of that time. I always enjoy looking at, and taking photos of clouds etc. They also make excellent backgrounds for my poems. 🙂

Till next time!

Written & Photographed by David Johnson

26 July 2025

Image Overload

Story To Be Written

Watercolour Nature Journalling Workshop – So Much Fun!

Last Sunday, I had the absolute pleasure attending the workshop above. It was run by Linda Brown who is a professional artist from the Illawarra Region, south of Sydney. Linda is a fellow member of Red Point Artists, which is based at Port Kembla.

My Wife, Susan gave me a gift certificate for my birthday in March. The certificate was to be able to attend any of Linda’s workshop’s, and I chose this one as thought it sounded delightful, and it was. 🙂

We were asked to bring various natural subjects down, like Autumn leaves, twigs, bark, driftwood, shells, flowers, etc.

Linda guided us through different techniques during the day, which culminated in producing a Watercolour on Watercolour paper after first practising on sketchbook 110 gsm paper. This way, we could experiment on cheaper paper first.

As with any workshop, the people attending make it great as well, and there was a good mix of beginner to experienced artists, all ready to jump out of their comfort zones.

Here is my creation below, expertly guided by Linda Brown Artist. Thanks Linda! 🙂

Linda is running more of this type of workshop, plus others so if you see them advertised, I would highly recommend you check them out.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

6 May 2025

An Addition To My Art Library!

It certainly has been a busy last 6 months!

Last month for my Birthday, I received some gift vouchers and one of those has been spent on the book below, which I have had in my Wish List on Amazon for some time.

I haven’t had much time to look at it since it arrived earlier in the week so I am looking forward to finding some time this weekend. 🙂

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

4 April 2025

Creativity Expressed

Watercolour Sketch a Day – 6 Years Straight!

Yesterday, I achieved another milestone with my daily art practice a, ‘Watercolour Sketch a Day.

As of yesterday, I have completed a Watercolour sketch daily for the past 6 years.

“Direction” – 6 Years of a Watercolour Sketch a Day!

It’s a journey I started to:

  • Obtain consistent practice
  • Learn new skills – sketching, drawing, painting
  • Create an escape of sorts from the day

I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey and have already completed the ‘6 years Day 1 of a Watercolour Sketch a Day’, today, so the journey will continue.

“Iceberg” – 6 Years, 1 Day of a Watercolour Sketch a Day!

This ‘year’ I intend to attempt some different subjects over time and aim to include people in some of the images.

I am looking forward to where this journey takes me next!

Written, Sketched and Painted by

David Johnson

27 January 2025