'the castle's queen'

'The Castle's Queen'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x40cm
H48x16ins
Acrylic on Canvas
....

If you need to snatch 5 minutes for a coffee or to finish that book....

what is better than  sand...(yes..even better...dirt)......some water

and assorted containers....

on the deck, at the beach, on a balcony, in a park....it never failed me.

this is an old photo.  we lived overseas for a few years

and spent every August ...the 'Summer School Holidays'... in a Victorian winter.

often we'd strike it lucky...clear skies, still seas, the beach to ourselves.

and sand..... lots of castles and forts made and  holes dug and decorated

in those days.

not a particularly good photo..but I like it ....it takes me back to a time

and place that was unhurried, happy and solid......it was blue tacked

to the wall beside my computer too many years ago .....

I really do need to decorate that room....

the photo will have to come down....

...but not today   :)

                                   Jo .. x


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....where's the sketch? ....

Painting for the summer exhibitions has been preoccupying my time of late.....

                                although I don't seem to be acheiving much! 

                        This is what is on my easel.....

work in progress

            and they have some mates....

work in progress

work in progress

....but I'm having trouble with the legs....

....that's what you get with lack of planning! .... but that's how I like to paint... 

.....see the image in my mind....pick up the brush .... and let fly. 

...now I'm stuck.... serves me right! 

                                                  :)   Jo 

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gale-force winds and possum twins.....

The appalling windy weather last week

not only wreaked havoc on human houses,  but also on the local wildlife.

at home the birds were creating an awful din, and when I  investigated

I found them swooping on this ringtail possum.

She was dragging herself across my lawn, with two babies

clinging wet and bedraggled to her back.

normally they'd be sound asleep during the day, and I didn't know

which tree they had been flung out of, but they were clearly terrified .

I managed to put mum and bubs into a box, in the far, quiet corner

of my yard. I hoped that when I returned from my studio that afternoon

that they would be missing, gone back to their drey.

but sadly she died.  even now when i think about her, I find it so, so distressing.

I put the twins into the front seat of my car, preying they wouldn't escape

their box whilst I  raced them down to the RSPCA before it closed.

I knew from my experience with a magpie bub in the house 

that I no longer have the stamina for all-night feeds.

and the thought of two baby possums up to high jinks inside my house

in the middle of the night was way too much for me!

but happy ending.... the next day they were adopted together

by a 'Possum-Carer' .....bless her hairy socks ! ....and were doing well.

my guess is that when they grow up they might just be delivered back

to this address in the dead of night.

hopefully they'll have a quieter existence than their poor mum!                

possum twins photo sourced from the web,
photographer David Cook

                                Jo  :(


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soul mates.....

'Soul Mates'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

I recently enjoyed a 24hr 'Escape to the Country'.

the day chosen began with a huge storm overnight....

we lost power at home....

trees down all over Melbourne, gusty winds recorded  up to

100kph, rain and hail fronts blowing across the state.

but I wasn't going to let a little stormy weather get in the way of a trip

to the beach!

my friends property has wildlife a-plenty.....

bunnies, wallabies, ibis, and rolling green paddocks

with views to the sea from the lounge and bedrooms.

the weather alternated between wild-with-sunshine, and wild-and-wet!

to be able to see these waves from the verandah, they must have been as big

as apartment blocks.

awesome!

I was mesmerized.

and a few minutes later the sun was out ......(it might look calm but

it was still blowing a gale)...and then another rain front would hurtle in.

It was only such a short period of time....but it felt like a holiday......

left me feeling totally restored and ready to go back to the brushes.....

feeling just like this!

'Soul Mates'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H140x140cm
H55x55ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold

'Soul Mates'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt ©

.....I really need to make time to take time out....

....I'll put that on the to-do list....tomorrow!


                       Jo  :)



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'On a Mission'

'On a Mission'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

across the creek to the Agnes Water Beach, Queensland

Agnes Water Creek

stunning inky reflections in the creek

I stayed at Agnes Water, some one and a half hours below Gladstone . 

Walking from the carpark, you cross a little creek and 

the coastal bush opens out to a lovely expanse of beach. 

And the water is warm! No stingers at this time of year... it was lovely. 

The local church puts on a sausage-sizzle in the beach parkland  

every Thursday, so I even scored a free lunch! 

And I saw my first bush-turkey....a handsome male 

strutting his stuff near the dunes outside the resort.

'On a Mission'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within 'Series
H132x122cm
H52x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

.......I'm on a mission to find an excuse to get back there......

                               .....just another something else to add to the bucket-list!

                                                 Jo          x 

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APLNG.... Curtis Island ...

the Australia Pacific Liquified Natural Gas  plant on Curtis Island , Gladstone....

some info from the tour....

about 3000 workers now live in accomodation across the three LNG sites.

Sadly our buses just cruised past so we didn't get to see inside

the accomodation 'village',  but as well as the cafeteria/dining hall, there is

a swimming pool, tavern,  gymnasium complete with instructors/ trainers,

tennis court and outdoor BBQ areas.

Source: David Sparkes   The Courier-Mail

Source: David Sparkes   The Courier-Mail

wild brumbies are in the surrounding bush...we didn't see these either

but my son says sightings were commonplace,especially

before all the activity....

the roof of the tanks is lifted with air....gently blown up

like a balloon....astonishing!!

The 88-metre roof of one of the APLNG storage tanks was raised over an eight-hour period
with the help of five giant fans.

photos above.... Souce: The Courier- Mail

and from The Courier-Mail:

"The complexity of the roof raise is in itself a construction feat, with 1050 tonnes of carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium materials lifted into place by low air volume created by fans in a principle not dissimilar to blowing up a camping air bed.

"The five fans, which are almost 80cm in diameter and with 75-horsepower motors, gradually build the volume and create enough pressure to lift the roof from the ground to the top of the tank."

There are a lot of Bechtel-Curtis Island videos on You-tube, including this one, just 30 seconds
... of the Roof Raise.... 



Roof-Raise

...and from google earth....just like an abstract painting....gorgeous....

....it was a great day....I learnt a lot....

enjoyed the Gladstone scenery and hospitality....

and got to hang out with my son     :)   :)

                  Jo   x





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Bechtel... Curtis Island... A Family Day

a bag full of goodies

Pirates , delicious free food, live music, sunshine....a perfect start.

pirate..with chicken on his hat!

then a stroll through the park to the ferry. 

this is how they used to arrive on Curtis Island not so many months ago....

earlier ferry to Curtis Island

boat to Bechtel plant, Curtis Island, Qld

and this is how the 6000 workers commute now.

14 seats across, 3 TV screens in this section, same number 

of seats in front section, plus same again on top . HUGE! 

a small section inside the ferry , to Curtis Island

......it was a tough commute to the office.......

(though I must admit that at 5am in the morning it would be different!)

.....we had to dodge the local traffic....

and then we caught our first site of 'the tanks'.

LNG tanks, Curtis Island , Gladstone, Queensland

there are a few ferries and they do a couple of dozen trips every day, 

so docking and manoevering  was speedy and seamless. 

and then all 500 of  us disembarked and shuffled down the walkway

 to a dozen waiting buses for our 'tour'.

following the same route that our relatives take every time they come 

or go from work. It was certainly eye-opening! and time-consuming!

but fascinating! 

Source : The Courier-Mail

..... more tomorrow!

                                                 Jo x


In a strange coincidence, when my son found out that he was to start work on the APLNG site, I was googling Curtis Island and stumbled across a blog written by a lass whose husband had been transferred to Gladstone from the US. A couple of months back I mentioned that I'd love to see the construction site...and I'd found some fascinating info on the 'Curtis-Gladstone lifestyle for a worker' on this blog ...it turns out that Katie and Nick from the US and my son have become great mates  ...he even appears in the blog!

So for a great explanation of the APLNG project and the commute to work... click  here

and look...there's more!

The Paramedic Boat

pretty impressive...see that little white box at the front....that's thigh height.

Seriously though... it's nice to know that if there's an emergency they'd be able to fit half the site on board!

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