Rainbow Lorikeet Painting
A wonderful Mother's Day treat painting in the beautiful gardens of The Cedars in the Adelaide Hills. Free how-to-draw sheet for you to try at home!
Yesterday I hosted a delightful painting session in the gardens of The Cedars (former residence of Hans Heysen in Hahndorf (Adelaide Hills). I’ve been teaching regular classes here, and every time I enter the garden a wave of calm spreads over me. Hans Heysen seems to have been a pretty awesome guy, his paintings truly capture the magic of the Australian landscape. What really tickles my fancy is the fact that he was a conservationist and campaigned for the protection of the old roadside gum trees that he loved so dearly. The following artwork ‘Droving into the Light’ is one of Heysen’s most famous paintings and epitomises his understanding of light and love of the Adelaide Hills landscape.
Anyway, I’m writing here about my workshop, not Hans Heysen! Every month at The Cedars, I’ve been taking participants step-by-step drawing and painting birds that are seen in the Heysen gardens. So far we’ve painted the Superb Fairy Wren, Kookaburra and yesterday’s class was looking at the Rainbow Lorikeet. It just so happened to also be Mother’s Day, so I invited my Mum along too as a treat. 😊
The classes run from 2-4pm and the light was truly gorgeous as it shone through the deciduous trees. We had some lovely chats as we painted using the step-by-step drawing sheets I provided and my guidance. Lovely cups of tea in fine china made the experience even more quaint - I recommend the Flinders Ranges black tea… so warming!
I often loose track of time at these workshops and we keep painting after 4pm, but I’m always pleased when people are able to finish their artworks. A number of the ladies hadn’t painted since school and it was wonderful to hear that they had a lovely relaxed time. Here are some of the beautiful creations from yesterday.
I’m running similar classes throughout the year at The Cedars, with the next one being Eastern Spine-bills (personally one of my favourite birds) on the 9th of June. If it’s cold, we will be inside or undercover by heaters… do bring a jumper nonetheless as it’s always cooler in the Hills! Book in here.
If you want to treat yourself to a little lorikeet painting session at home, feel free to reference this how-to-draw sheet. I’d love to see your creations in the comments or by return email.
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Happy painting!
With love and a dose of whimsy,
Zinia