February in Torquay

From the blue hills of the Dandenongs to the sea side town of Torquay - once the home of the Wathaurong Aboriginal people (for 25,000 years!) and known as 'Spring Creek' to the early Europeans. The area is famous for it's surf beaches of Jan Juc and Bells Beach, and is the start of the breathtaking coastal drive of the Great Ocean Road. Its natural sandstone sculptures are continuously being shaped by the rough seas of Bass Strait, their great work forming the 'Twelve Apostles' which rise like earthy cathedral spires.

photo of the Twelve Apostles

My Torquay view, The Esplanade

Having spent many summer holidays in Torquay the view has inspired me to paint a few scenes..

'Cozy Corner Torquay'

'Cozy Corner Two'

Torquay's beaches are a magnet for families and moving along the Great Ocean Road, adrenalin junkies! Throughout summer a wide section of society congregates, Surfies, Free Spirits,  Mum's and Dad's and of course children.

The American artist Mary Cassatt captures the sentiment of children beautifully in her painting 'Two Children at the Seashore' painted in 1884. Born in 1844 she was the only American and one of very few women who were at the forefront of the French Impressionist movement, I had the below painting pressed from a poster to canvas and it hangs in my bedroom in Torquay, a reminder that the beach will always be a playground for children.

 'Two Children at the Seashore' Mary Cassatt'

That's it for now!

Lotsaluv, Val x