20 SEPT 2023 – Lighthouse Arts, Nobbys Lighthouse, Nobbys-Whibayganba Headland, Newcastle
It’s an exceptionally hot & windy day. A day of Total Fire Ban. El Nino has been declared and the weather backs it up. The walk along Nobbys Breakwall almost claimed my hat and emptied sand into my travel mug. My desk today faces the city, in the shady corner of Cottage 2. The white bricks feel solid and cool to the touch. A relief.
A squabbling crow and Square-tailed Kite catch my attention. After much vocal debate, the Kite gives up and flies away while the crow does a victory loop around the Pilot Station. Fresh, fat flies are catching themselves inside the cottage windows while large ships are being escorted in and out of the Harbour by nimble tugboats. A yacht, a kite surfer, the hum of a jetski; it’s business as usual in the harbour despite the unpleasant conditions.
I’m processing cyanotypes again, blue and white, ready for mounting into navy-edged plates. Another artist suggests tea-staining, or lumens…but I’m happily entrenched in these maritime colours for now. Further experimentation can wait.
A beautiful red and yellow winged butterfly is gripping my window in the westerly wind. I‘ve never seen one like it before; most of our backyard butterflies are black and white or ringed in blue. A quick google search reveals it as a female Black Jezebel (Delias nigrina). And so, I have learned something new today.
The sky is faded blue, heat draining its intensity on this unseasonably hot Spring day. I take some more photos but quickly retreat to the cool solitude of my room. I think this is where I will stay for the afternoon.
