ellery creek bighole is one of my favourite places - roughly 100kms west of alice springs in the west macdonnell ranges - it was my first close up encounter with the colours and textures of central australia back in 2007 
- the rocks look like they have just reared up out of the earth, 
energy pours out of the cliffs 
and the colours glow.
actually glow is too quiet a verb for the effect of these colours - the oranges and blacks just about knock you down, they are so strong. they centainly have a powerful effect on me - i want to run into the desert and lie down in the red dust and just be in the land.
the paintings from this area have a similar effect on me - painters such as evelyn pultara, marymorton and janelle stockman napaltjarri whose work we saw in alice springs.
if you would like to see more rock photos (and who wouldn't?) go over to flickr where i'm gradually loading up some of the mumblety hundred photos i took.
as i was going through the photos it did strike me that i took many more photos of rocks than of the family. further evidence of my bad motherhood - underlined yesterday by young w's joy as he rummaged through the washing basket "yay - i've got matching socks!"
4 comments:
I know what you mean about wanting to wallow in the knockout colours. I bought a travel watercolour set and sketchbook when I did a 6 week tour in 1995 of Australia (including camping in the MacDonnell ranges). Even now when I look through my sketches I remember the excitement of trying to capture those oranges , reds and purples (especially when used to the green and greys of the UK)
Yep, I agree! (btw does anyone else think the last photo looks really like a loaf of the very best sort of bread?) I have to say, I was a little naughty whilst in Oz, because I helped myself to a handful or so of red earth and came back and dyed cloth with it. It worked quite well! I couldn't believe the redness of it especially when I got home and saw it in the pale English light.
Hope i cna catch up with you before you go back to work- don't forget southern lands. Are you familiar with the work of Judy Watson- she talks about being in the earth in her work- very interesting work btw- had to buy the book - a pdf chapter is available from the Miegunyah press and imprinnt of Melbourne University press- the chapter is on water- the book is entitled Blood Language
What a beautiful place!
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