Sep & Oct 2026 update

Spring has gone by in a blur. With lots of teaching, workshops and squeezing in a plein air festival I was kept on my toes. I felt a bit sad that I wasn't able to experience the wildflowers as much as I would have liked this year due to my busy schedule, but at least managed to visit King's Park and Warwick Bushland for quick glimpses.

In this post I describe what's been happening in nature around me during September and October as well as give an arty update with my experiences doing Plein Air Down Under and Inktober.

Jump ahead:

• Plein Air Down Under
• Nature journaling in Kambarang
• Inktober
• Upcoming events

Nature journaling in Djilba

At Herdsman Lake there was an interesting phenomenon with caterpillars (I suspect sawfly larvae) congregating and clustering on a tree for about a week. Is this for warmth? Protection?

There were ducklings, cygnets and I spotted many blue-billed ducks that seemed to appear suddenly one day. A nesting willy wagtail had at least one egg in its nest at the Wetlands Centre - apparently the second year now so it must feel quite comfortable around all the visitors.

I noticed the kangaroo paws, wattles and red bottlebrushes all flowering beautifully throughout Perth.

PADU

Plein Air Down Under

One of my favourite events for the year is participating in the Plein Air Down Under Festival. This year I was unable to join in the pre-festival workshops or the Experience Peel paint-outs, which meant that I didn't feel "warmed up" for the festival weekend, but my plein air skills came back quickly and I was pleased with my paintings. Each time I felt I learnt something new and improved just a bit from the previous piece. It's always great fun and I feel surrounded by friends now.

The weather was interesting - there was rain forecast for most of the time but I don't think it actually precipitated (ha) much. During the final Quick Draw painting there were overcast skies after a quick shower, but by the time the judging happened it was blue skies!

This was my 5th year - to see how I've grown check out the previous years (I didn't write up 2025, but did participate):

Plein Air Down Under 2024

I returned to Mandurah for my third year participating in the Plein Air Down Under (PADU) Festival. I'd intended to have done some training since last year, either a landscapes course or to become more familiar with gouache, however I didn't quite achieve it. I'm in the

Kim's NJ AdventuresKim Lapere

Plein Air Down Under 2023

I think I’d forgotten a little bit what plein air painting could be like. With the shifting sun and clouds I struggled with the heat and angle of the paper

Kim's NJ AdventuresKim Lapere

Plein Air Down Under 2022

I joined the 3-day plein air painting festival and put my art skills to the test!

Kim's NJ AdventuresKim Lapere

Kambarang

The flora and fauna from Warwick bushland (and the spider from by my front door).

Inktober

Last year I didn't manage to finish Inktober, but despite being away for the first 4 days of October I decided to go for the challenge this year! My theme of Australian bats has worked well for me, both something I've been recently interested in and ties in with Bat Appreciation Month and of course Halloween!

I will post them all at the end of the month but here's a sneak peak of Week 1:

Coming up

There are two casual meet-ups organised for November, at the Zoo and Herdsman Lake - join us by registering below:

Nature Journaling Meetups in November

Find out about upcoming nature journaling meetups in the Perth area.

Kim's NJ AdventuresKim Lapere