This year I have scored a residency at Hill End around 5 hours away. I am staying in Haefliger’s cottage for 4 weeks. The former residence of painters Paul Haefliger and Jean Bellette the house is full of their books and pictures, etc. indicative of mid last century (Australia’s Modern period) that they left behind. In addition this history there is the 19th century Victorian era building and all its accompaniments indicative of the gold mining heyday in Hill End which saw the town develop and swell to include 28 pubs! Now there is one pub standing, the old Royal Hotel which has WIFI (hence it be my present location). Lunchtime is the best time to be here (more people) as nighttime is cold and deserted (residents cosy by their fires!). Have begun a photo journey (been here settling in since Sunday afternoon when Darren and I set up a shroud). On Monday I set up the sun-drenched studio (while Darren roamed the hills) and completed a portion of one of the wetland paintings for Sanctuary Point. Darren got the potbelly going in there so once the sun left it was still warm and I happily painted till bedtime. Today we have had brekky on the sunny front porch before wandering off into the hills exploring mine shafts and the remnants of a town now overgrown with Aussie Bush. It is something I have always dreamed, to see the bush reclaim a town. We then got a coffee at the local corner store run by a lovely fella of English origins and after walking to the museum for a look ended up here at the pub for chips and beer!

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Alicia, who was Visiting Bundanon for a couple of days, found another gift beside the apartment. The colourful rainbow lorikeet. I placed her on thick paper between two heavy boards. Thanks Alicia.

Yesterday, Bundanon staff moved the dead daddy kangaroo away from the homestead to the stingray shroud site. Today I estimated and cut a length of canvas from my roll and walked out in the heat of the midday sun to the site. Ravens and a wedge tail eagle greeted me. The kangaroo is big but young and fibrous and so I was able to drag him by his thick black tail onto the canvas I had laid out beside him. It was, miraculously, a perfect fit. His death pose is strong and dynamic. The stingray is drying out nicely and should create a neat silhouette.

I jogged along the Cedar trail this morning and discovered dead lantana bunches hanging like crazy nests from trees and rocks. I checked on the stingray and it survived the night, but two ravens were hanging around calling to each other. I filled up the copper cauldron with water from the lagoon and found a dead daddy kangaroo. Maybe he had a fight with another daddy so I told Jennifer the collections manager and she said it needed to be moved. I suggested he could become another Bundanon shroud. Jennifer’s husband had found a ‘skate’ at a similar time to me on a Vincentia beach and photographed it. They had also found it serendipitous considering the Boyd show featuring the Skate was on at the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum at this time. I think both should feature in my stingray works. I put one coat of rabbit skin glue on 6 canvases including the Woollamia ringtail possum and rosella.