Last week my husband and I walked into Lake Judd in Tasmanian's South West wilderness area. We'd done it before a few times many years ago when it was a very long, hard slog through boggy mudpits up to our knees. I did not have pleasant memories of the track! Joyously it has had a major upgrade and is now very well duckboarded most of the 8 km trek into the lake.

Looking back to Lake Peddar ...no mud in sight!
Lovely, dry duckboard!

We set off early and I sent Trevor ahead as I knew he was full of adrenaline wanting to catch the early light on the lake for some photography and I took my time and enjoyed the wild flowers beside the track, birds singing and the sensation of being alone in the wilderness. It was worth the last steep climb when I arrived at Lake Judd to find glorious reflections of Mt Anne and overhanging trees in the perfectly still waters of the lake.

Mt Anne reflected in the still waters of Lake Judd
Tree reflection in the tannic water of the
Anne River as it emerges from Lake Judd.

I knew I was going to paint this scene ...and it was going to be large! I wanted to capture the granduer of the scene and convey the tranquility of the moment.

I started by toning a 100x100cm canvas with
quinacridone nickel azo gold acrylic paint and drawing in the main elements with an ink marker.
I took my time working on the rock shapes that would show through the reflections noting the changes in value at the edge of the tree reflections.
I worked from background to foreground using Atelier interactive acrylic paints massing in the major shapes and elements.
Then came several layers of glazing to suggest the water surface with added blues were the sky colour reflected. I rechecked the foliage, quitened down the tree trunks so they didn't compete too strongly with the main overhanging tree and refined some of the tree brach reflections.

I never aim for exactitude when painting from reference photos ...I'm much more interested in capturing a mood and a moment in time. The colours aren't exactly the same as the reference but the feeling and mood is pretty much as I experienced standing there in the still of the morning watching nature put on a majestic show for just the two of us. Wilderness experiences are treasured moments and this is one moment I am happy to have preserved in paint.