Devil’s Marbles

Back in 1986, I went on a Con-Tiki tour of the Northern Territory in Australia. Whilst I have quite a few photos from that location (we stayed overnight there), and the trip itself, I have never got around to attempting a painting on any of the subjects I saw on that trip.

The Devil’s Marbles are a loose formation of mainly rounded boulders, plus some other shapes that are anywhere from 50cm (19.6 inches) to 6 metres (19.6 feet) in diameter.

The painting below has a mixture of them. I’m sure I’ll do more of the Devil’s Marbles, and other locations from that trip.

  • Baohong Aquarelle 100% Pure Cotton Rough Watercolour paper
  • Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour pans
  • Daniel Smith Watercolours
  • Aquawash brushes
  • Neef brushes
  • Size 18 x 26cm (7 x 10 inches)

Till next time!

Written & Painted by David Johnson

8 February 2026

Here is a link to find out more information if you would like visit it.

https://northernterritory.com/tennant-creek-and-barkly-region/destinations/karlu-karlu–devils-marbles-conservation-reserve

Story To Be Written

“Serpent By The Sea”

Below is my latest effort using the Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolours that I was blessed to receive at Christmas. I am really enjoying using them.

For this painting though, I have also used Sumikondo Japanese Watercolours, and Daniel Smith paints. The latter on a minor scale.

Other materials used were:

  • Baohong The Master’s Choice 300gsm 100% Cotton Rough texture Block paper.
  • Neef brushes
  • Aquawash brushes
“Serpent By The Sea”

The ‘Serpent’ was painted with the Sumikondo watercolours. The sand, ocean, and most of the island in the distance were painted with the Gansai Tambi watercolours. Daniel Smith paints were used a little for shadows, mainly under the rock.

The idea for the painting came from one of my Watercolour Sketch a Day sketches. This week’s painting was quite a different image in terms of colour and texture than the sketch I did below. Different paint and paper were used for this one.

Till next time!

Written & Painted by David Johnson

3 January 2025