BUFFALO

Buffalo Diamonds | Scott Bennett | 2011 | Watercolour, pastel & pencil, on paper | 21″ x 24″ | Private collection

Buffalo Mountains

I hadn’t been to Mt Buffalo when I first saw Arthur Streeton’s Buffalo Mountains at Castlemaine Gallery.

His painting really impressed me and I determined to go to Buffalo to see this amazing scene.

When I finally got a clear day on Buffalo, I tried to find the location, I found ‘Bents’ but couldn’t locate the exact position. I wanted to paint the same view so I adapted my work to create a similar composition.

I was amazed to discover that Streeton was far more observational than I had thought. I imagined his work would owe more to expression and impressionism than to the scene. I was struck by how accurately he had drawn all the main shapes. The large rock in the foreground looked a bit like a human skull, I wondered if he had exaggerated it. I was surprised to discover that he was faithful to the scene, articulating natural shapes with great accuracy.

It is interesting to discover what he left out and what he left in though, as it demonstrates how the composition has been constructed and enhanced by this process.