This morning we are about to head off on a trip to paint the desert. We will be leaving Melbourne and travelling north to cross the Murray River and drive West towards Wentworth, on the South Australian border. We will stay somewhere along the way, perhaps Swan Hill.

It feels such a long time since we have spent time in the Australian Desert – though we did make a trip last year to central Queensland and look stay around the opal and sapphire fields of Emerald, Sapphire and Lightning Ridge.

If I have internet availability I will post images along the way.

It takes as much organising for a trip of two or three weeks or six weeks, just a few less canvases. Because I didn’t want to leave my students for four weeks without painting time we had left it to the last minute to organise our own clothes. The camera gear and painting equipment was well thought out and I am reasonably confident I have not forgotten anything. The tip will tell.

Packed are painting materials that include everything I will need for plain air landscape painting. I have; oil, acrylic or underpainting, watercolour and gouache. In my handbag is a small set of watercolours, pen and pencils. At no time will I be without the ability to paint or draw. We have stretched canvas, colourful papers, watercolour papers and sketch blocks. Camera gear includes my 5D camera with lenses, plenty of spare cards and batteries, and the laptop to download images in the evenings, if I can be bothered…