The delicacy and detail of botanical paintings is astonishing. With six days at their disposal, the artists still claimed they were pressed to finish by the end of the week – but their artwork was of a very high standard. Delicate heliconia, robust ginger, and the intricate lacy petals of a hibiscus were all on display as the painters bent over their boards in the classroom set up for them in the yoga shala. It is a beautiful spot to spend your time: a lovely view, a tranquil space and the companionship of all the others, chatting quietly, offering tips and giving support. Plus tea and coffee and cakes brought up during the morning! And of course the excellent teaching of Leonie Norton, who manages to squeeze unsuspected genius out of everyone.

The artists move into the yoga shala

It is unfair to single anyone out but……a special mention of Jeannette who has never done any painting before but produced a really stunning picture of a flowering ginger (Alpinia purpurata). She was there with her daughter Helen who had come to us as prizewinners of a competition run with Eckersley’s art shops: Helen painted a hibiscus (Hibiscus schizopetalus), with immensely delicate petals. Leonie taught her the value of painting in the petals in the foreground, but leaving those in the background half- coloured so as not to overwhelm the eye with detail.

Jeanette and Helen hard at work

Alva back for her third retreat at Daku

And another special mention: this one of Alva, who was back for her second week at Daku. She commanded a table to herself as she painted her heliconia and the tiny lines on the curled leaf beside it. On the next table Helen and Jean (yes, another Helen, with a Jean not Jeannette) concentrated on another variety of heliconia (Jean) and a red hybrid hibiscus Hibiscusrosa-sinensis (Helen) which she examined minutely through a large magnifying glass so as to capture every fold of its petals.
At the front table sat Mary and Kathryn, both of them tackling large plants – Mary a Heliconia rostrata, commonly known as the Lobster Claw, which you grows prolifically at Daku, and Kathryn a Heliconia caribaeaux x bihai. This was Kathryn’s first attempt and despite being anxious, she was thrilled with her beautiful final painting, which will be the first of many, I am sure. They patiently laid down their washes, sat back to let the paint dry, then bent over again to apply the next layer.

Behind them Dawn plugged herself into her iPod and was in another world of her own as she built up her picture. She completed a strong confident painting of a Heliconia psittacorum ‘Andromeda’, the Parrot Heliconia. Robyn was one of the only ones not using the colour red as she painted the delicate contrasting violet flowers and long dark green leaves of a plant growing profusely on the resort.

Marlene and another Dawn sat at the table at the back; more large, sturdy heliconia – one in dramatic reds and the other in pinks and greens. Marlene’s pendant Heliconia collinsiana ranged in colour from vivid orange-reds to deep maroons, with a light blush covering the bracts and huge leaves, which she also painted. Dawn’s painting was of the quite rare Heliconia wagneriana. The bracts are a delicate salmon-pink with soft lemon edges lined with vibrant green.

Marlene and her pendant Heliconia collinsiana

And so there’s everyone accounted for and special mentions all round. At the end of the week we pinned all the pictures up in the big bure and enjoyed the beauty and professionalism of all the work on display before our final dinner and reluctant goodbyes to a week of flowering talent.

Leonie Norton returns to Daku for her next course in March 2012.

Time to mark some recent successes for two of our art teachers.

Botanical art teacher Leonie Norton has just seen her marvellous book Women of Flowers: Botanical Art in Australia from the 1830s to the 1960s go into its second printing barely 18 months after being published – a considerable achievement. Leonie Norton herself, who is one of our regular teachers at Daku Resort, is one of Australia’s leading botanical artists and an international botanical art tutor.

Her next course at Daku runs from August 27 – September 3 – Botanical Art and Holiday Sketching

Leonie explores the lives and talents of the women who produced these wonderful pictures – women who were often denied any other artistic outlets and who consequently turned their energies into these beautiful drawings and paintings. Botanical art has long been dominated by women and often dismissed as no more than a nice hobby by the art world. She reminds us that ‘female’ art has great and enduring merit, and her book is a testimony to the artists of that world.

And it’s just a lovely book, one of the publications that the National Library of Australia does so well. Full of pictures drawn from its archives, the reproductions are clear and generous and the text is well-laid out and a pleasure to follow.

The book is available at the National Library’s book store and can be purchased by phone (02) 6262 1424 or internet http://shop.nla.gov.au for $34.95. It is also available at many book shops throughout Australia.

Elena Parashko took out the first prize in seascapes at the Royal Canberra Agricultural Show with her painting “Dare to be Different”. It’s a striking oil painting that focuses on a tiny detail of life by the sea: the snails and the trails they leave in the sand. Not a drop of ocean to be seen – and yet you can still feel the ebb and flow of the tide in the background.

Elena’s next course in Fiji runs from 13 – 20 August – Seascapes and Landscapes

Last week artist Leonie Norton led a group of artists in a botanical art and holiday sketching retreat. The week was spent at a slow and leisurely pace, painting, sketching and drawing in various locations around Daku Resort and Savusavu in general. The yoga shala again proved its impressive versatility providing a fabulously cool and shaded place to paint, with some wonderfully inspiring views – and with lush plant life all around.

The group visited a few beaches around Savusavu in order just to sit and take sketches of the scenery – and here are just a few pictures of the group at work…

Leonie painting a heliconia

In April we welcomed Leonie Norton and a group of painters to Daku for a very busy week of botanical art AND holiday sketching. The difficult economic times have affected everyone, and we didn’t have enough people for two separate weeks of painting – so we put the two courses together and had a very productive week of painting and sketching.

The weather was generally lovely, but we had regular afternoon thunderstorms for three days so we switched around our schedules and went on sketching expeditions in the morning, and sat down to the detailed work of botanical art in the afternoon. The expeditions were great fun – we spent a very happy morning on Matuku beach across the bay, capturing the

Sketching at Matuku Beach

classic palm-tree edged sandy beach. Watching the artists sketch in the outlines and then fill in colours, I became aware of just how many shades of blue there are in the sea in the tropics –the turquoise of the sandy shallows, the aquamarine of the sea over the reef, the deep blue of the middle of the bay which turned to cobalt as the afternoon clouds started to build. And then there were the greens of the trees – palms, figs, creepers, and many local trees whose names I don’t know.

Yaukolo gardens

Another morning we went to Yaukolo gardens and enjoyed a fabulous morning tea made by the owner Louise. She has cultivated a beautiful garden over the nine years she and Jim have lived there, with fantastic palms, orchids, aloes and 26 varieties of ginger. We sat and
sketched the views from the gardens out to the reef in the ocean.

Everyone did both types of art – except for Joan, who was determined to just sit and paint a beautiful arrangement of croton leaves. This was Joan’s third visit to Daku so clearly she knew exactly what she wanted to do and was not to be deflected!