Draw on the Mountain is part of the inaugural 10-day Drawing Trail Festival, from September 20-29, at Wild Valley Art Park, Australia’s only eco arts village. Draw on the Mountain captures World Heritage backdrops, iconic tourist attractions and less known natural locations in the Blue Mountains and surrounds.
The Festival Program features workshops and master classes by Australia’s leading artists, including Wedderburn artists David Fairbairn and Suzanne Archer, renowned oil painter and landscape painter Lucy Culliton, Byron Bay’s Liz Powell, and local artists Michael Herron and Michiyo Miwa.
The Festival will culminate in an exhibition by participating artists in the Sketchbook Drawing Trail with works judged for a major $5000 acquisitive prize, as well as awards for enthusiasts and children’s categories.
The self-guided Sketchbook Art Trail includes key mountain destinations such as the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Gardens in Faulconbridge, Wentworth Falls Lake and lookout, Lawson bushwalks and waterfalls, Scenic World and the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba, the derelict blast furnaces in Lithgow and the incredible natural beauty of nearby Hassans Wall.
Festival Director, Selena Seifert says the Draw on the Mountain Festival was inspired by her personal experience some years ago with The Brooklyn Art Library in New York. There they run THE SKETCHBOOK PROJECT – a dynamic global project involving participants from around the world who are invited to contribute to a travelling library collection of handmade books.
“My aim is to provide participants of all ages with an incentive to leave their technology behind and pick up a pencil or pen and doodle, draw or experiment in their sketchbooks, inspired by the magnificent, unique and beautiful natural environment of these Blue Mountains locations,” Ms Seifert said.
