Ghost Gum Opal Mine

GHOST GUM OPAL MINE
By Little Heath
September 2024

Occasionaly I come across lonely prospectors in remote locations searching for a fortune . One bloke , who I met camping alone in a tent near a white Ghost Gum tree. We got talking & he told me he had been contemplating going back to the City and getting a job because he had no luck searching for opals near Lightning Ridge. But fortunately , one day while walking not far from his tent , he kicked a rock sticking out of the ground and immediately realised it was full of bright , colourful opal . He dug half a metre deep into the red dirt where he came across more opal veined rocks . This discovery became a successfull mine which he named The Ghost Gum Mine.

The story explaining this painting will be printed and attached to back of canvas.

This painting will warm your heart every time you look at it. The pictorial narrative, told in rich colours , will sing loudly to you & remind you to stay positive every day because life is full of suprises .

Any wall area in your home will be brightened up by this painting.

Poem:

Ghost Gum Mine

In the heart of the Outback,
Where the earth holds its secrets tight,
The Ghost Gum mine stands silent and proud,
A small glimmer of hope in the vast expanse.

The miner, a solitary figure,
Treads lightly on the sunburnt land,
His dreams as precious as the gold he seeks,
A white canvas tent his only refuge.

In the stillness of the desert night,
He listens to the whispers of the wind,
The Ghost Gum swaying in the moon's gentle light,
A guardian of his solitary existence.

By Little Heath

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Spring in 2026 has begun and the days are getting longer and sunnier . The log fire in my home won't be required for much longer as the evenings get warmer . Already plants such as daisies, orchids , acacias and grasses are forming buds and about to flower to create an amazing sea of colour. Birds will begin making nests . These scenes will influence my paintings.

ARTIST STATEMENT
Twenty years ago I had a chance meeting with one of the famous " Brushmen of the Bush " artists from Broken Hill . He was out in the middle of nowhere, parked on the side of a lonely dirt road painting a landscape .I pulled over to have a chat . He was very talkative & began explaining the basics of his oil painting. The whole thing intrigued me. A month later I bought some art materials , made a studio in the corner of the old wool shed & began painting .

SUBJECT MATTER :

My oil paintings are about the people and the wildlife who live in the remote Outback of Australia .
I often drive off the beaten track and experience the beauty and harshness of the Outback with its floods, droughts and bush fires . Spectacular thunder storm clouds grab my attention , towering high in the sky marking the horizon with deep contrasting greys and mauves , highlighted by flashes of lightening.

Flocks of colourful parrots , bilbys , numbats , emus & groups of kangaroos roam free . Graceful Gum trees and large ancient rock formations with their stark , majestic appearance .

The billabong is also a favourite subject of my landscape paintings because they attract thirsty animals and people fishing and swimming . Sometimes a rare platypus can be seen & they are a haven for water birds such as Spoonbills & brolgas .
Watching people do all soughts of unique and wonderfull things as they go about their daily lives. All of which are subject matter for my paintings .

ART STYLE :

My Art style is known as " Naive " as I was not formally trained in Art School &
" Colourist" because I prefer using pure bright colours
To apply the oil paint to canvas , I mostly use brushes , sometimes a bird feather , occasionally a palette knife or my fingers , to achieve the desired effect .
The canvas edges are painted , so it is ready to hang without a frame.

Feel free to ask questions or make comments via Bluethumb.

Let me know if there are any paintings you would prefer on a larger or smaller canvas or you would like a specific scene done from your description.

Every oil painting is original and authentic , signed and dated on the front . A printed explanation of the influence behind the painting is attached to the back of canvas.

So there you have it.
Thanks for reading my profile.

And have a healthy and happy 2026.
Regards,

Little Heath.