A view looking south along Walter Willis Road beside the Blackwood River near Bridgetown, Western Australia. This is on a circular route just near my home. I travel along the road quite regularly just to look at the scenery and get ideas for new paintings.
Once near this spot I parked beside the river only a few hundred metres up the road and headed towards the banks, Rupert right behind me.
Cresting the bank off the grassy flat plain, a large snake reared up about two metres in front of me. It was well over a metre long and fat as my wrist! Well I backed up rapidly and yelled at Rupert to stop before quickly deciding to go and paint somewhere else, nowhere near the river. Off we went, heart thumping!
Click image for larger view
The day of this painting was beautifully serene and warm, verging on hot. One of the first days coming out of Spring where you really begin to feel the bight of the Sun(in Australia, UV kills and we have to cover up well to avoid skin cancers). On the horizon was the dirty telltale smudge of distant smoke from the controlled burning that is carried out by the authorities every year approaching summer.
For purchasing information, click here.