Painting trip to Maldon

Kate and I went to Maldon, an hour and half drive northwest of Melbourne.

I've heard of this town before from Greg and my friends, and how well it preserves the charm of the past.

For our stay, we booked at Nuggetty Cottage, about ten minutes from town centre.
This is a beautiful and calm place, and its stone built cottage creates a serene atmosphere.

We're very lucky because on a second Sunday in a month there's a market in town, featuring many local produce, art and craft. And there's a music stand as well.

It was a wonderful experience wandering around the market, talking with people, tasting yummy food.

In the afternoon, we went to Bendigo Gallery to see Ben Quilty exhibition.
He's one of my favourite artists and there are four big paintings in this beautiful place.

On our way back to the cottage, we drove up to Mt Tarrangower lookout tower. 

It was very windy by then, but, we saw a gorgeous sunset. It was a magic.

Well, the painting...
I painted this one on Sunday evening. I tried to capture the cottage and surrounding gardens, but, I don't think I did a good job.

Oil on panel. 10 x 12 in.

On Monday, we decided to paint in town.
We set up our easels across from Beehive Old Wares & Collectables. It's a large 1870's historic stone & iron building, and we both loved it.
While we're painting, a lady offered us some cookies and a cup of tea. That was really nice.

I'm happy with this one. There're some areas I'm not so sure, for example, trees behind the building.

And it seems something lacking in this painting.

However, for a small sketch, I think I did ok.

More than anything else, I really enjoyed painting in this beautiful location.

Oil on panel. 10 x 12 in.

The weather was great, and I really had a fantastic weekend with Kate.
This town has become one of my favourite places, and hopefully we'll come back again soon.