More Treasure!

Last Friday, my Wife and I went to her parent’s property, South-East of Goulburn, NSW. On the way out, we stopped at one of our favourite places in Goulburn, The Argyle Emporium. We have visited there quite a few times before and I have written about it a few times on this blog.

It is located in an old police station/courthouse opposite the railway line, just up from the main park in Goulburn CBD. It has 25 rooms and approximately 500,000 books, plus records (LPs) and other items as well.

I suggested that we drop in here as my Wife is currently reading a 5-book sci-fi series called, ‘Dune.’ She received book one for Christmas and has book 5 but is missing the other three books. She was able to find book three so just has to get the other two now.

Of course, the chances of me entering a second-hand bookstore and not buying anything are extremely slim. I am happy to report that I did, in fact, buy five books. I added three to my poetry collection, there was one art-related book, and one writing-related book.

The cost of the five books together was only $23.00 AUD.

If you are just passing through Goulburn and you love books and records, I highly recommend a visit to the Argyle Emporium.

Happy reading!

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

4 January 2026

https://www.facebook.com/argyleemporium

Story To Be Written

The Poet’s Pen

Reveal

Clearing The Mist

Silent Talk

Contre Jour – Leaves

We are very fortunate that we live close to a really relaxing place to walk. Fortunately, we are higher up away from a river that has been known to flood over the years, and in particular, the last 2-3 years.

Normally, it is a wondrous place to walk…so relaxing and because light is what it is, you get to see different subjects lit differently even if you walk at the same time each day.

One of the things I really like to watch out for is ‘Contre jour’ or ‘against the light.’ In particular, trees, shrubs and of of course leaves really come to life with this type of lighting. Here are a few recent images I took. Hope you enjoy them.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

2 October 2023

Cultural Fusion

Last night, my Wife, Susan and I decided to attend ‘Cultural Fusion’ which is an event put on by the local Council. It features Art and Craft stalls, Art for sale and local musicians.

Visitor numbers seemed a bit down however, this could have been caused by the fact it was the Thursday before the Long Weekend here in New South Wales. I’m sure visitor numbers will pick up closer to Christmas.

We found it delightful and had fun catching up with some of the Artists I know personally and it was great to make new connections.

It is on every month for the next five months and there is a chance for me to have a table or put some of my Art up for sale so I’ll certainly be investigating those. 🙂

Below are a few images from the event.

Till next time!

Written by David Johnson

29 September 2023

Late Afternoon Walk

Last Sunday, late in the afternoon I had just finished off an A4 Watercolour when I looked out the window and saw the beautiful Spring light. It was too much of a temptation and I knew I had to get out there and go for a walk.

I finished up walking 3.3 km (2 miles) down at the Camden Bike Track which runs along a major river in the Sydney Basin. The track is about two minutes walk from where live which is great.

Here are some images I shot on my walk with a phone camera. Such a relaxing walk to cap off my Sunday.

Written by David Johnson

26 September 2023

Urban Sketchers Sydney – September Sketch-meet!

Yesterday, myself and approx. 50-60 other Urban Sketchers attended the September Sketch-meet. Our destination was the Sydney Opera House, which in a month’s time will have been open for 50 years.

I remember watching the opening in October 1973 on a Black & White TV set from our home approx. 13km/8 miles from the Sydney CBD. I still remember running up to the bridge over the railway line half-way between my suburb and the next so we could see a whole mass of balloons being sent into the sky from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Of course we could not see the bridge itself, but we did see the the a mass of balloons rise in the distance.

The Sydney Opera House is one of the most uniquely designed structures in the world.

I must say I was very pleased to attend this Sketch-meet as this the first standalone Sydney Sketch-meet I have been able to attend this year.

Rather than try to sketch the whole building, I chose to do a section of it and am very happy with the result.

As you can see from the first photo, it was perfect weather and it was quite a relaxing experience. I find the whole experience of sketching/painting, meditative, particularly when I do minute details, like the tiles in the ‘Sails.’

One of the things that I really look forward to at the the Sketch-meets is the ‘Throwdown’ as seen in the photos below. It’s wonderful seeing all the different styles and mediums that people use to create their Art. So inspirational.

All-in-all it was a great morning of sketching. It is so great to get together with a group of creators.

The ‘Urban Sketchers’ are a world-wide movement which is in over 60 countries, 394 cities with over 120,000 members. For more information, check out their website https://urbansketchers.org/ so you can find a chapter near you.

Till next time – Happy Sketching!

Written by David Johnson

3 September 2023