Paddlesteamer ‘Rodney’

This painting was a commission the artist received during an eight week painting trip along the Murray River to Coober Pedy – encompassing the Murrumbidgee River and a side trip from the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers to Pooncarie (on the Darling) in western New South Wales.

Contributed by Graham W. Smith

The subject is the Paddlesteamer ‘Rodney’ which rests on the bottom of the Darling River on the property of the homestead ‘Polia’, around 30 kilometres north-west of the ‘Port of Pooncaria’. In 1894, the ‘Rodney’ was bringing non-union shearers upriver to ‘Tolarno’ (a property 70 kilometres upstream of Pooncarie), when it was intercepted by striking shearers who burned it to the waterline. All that remains is the keelson, stringers and ribs protruding skywards like a gaunt skeleton that has been almost fossilised. The client downloaded an A4 image from his computer. After I outlined my approach, size and quotation, the client not only paid a deposit, but also purchased two of my plein air paintings (the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers at Wentworth, and a Murray River Gum). The painting…

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Australian How To Paint (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 48

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