Oil on canvas, stretched and ready to hang.

Signed certificate of authenticity.

Happy Place was recently painted after a trip to Tasmania.

For anyone who knows where this bridge is by looking at the painting, I image they might be thinking I’m being sardonic with the naming of the painting. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Built by convicts in 1823, Richmond Bridge, in Tasmania, is the oldest bridge in Australia. A friend told me, it was their Happy Place. That they could sit on the banks for hours staring at the bridge, that the beautiful area was their escape from mainland Victoria.

Having a great interest in the convict period, when I was painting the date on the plague, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of the convicts may have stood and from the view point of this painting, marvelled at the beauty of the world and what they may have escaped back in their homeland. To be sure, Tasmania’s, and for that matter, the colony of Sydney Towns, history and the treatment of the convicts was often brutal beyond comprehension.

The area here, at least now, is tranquil and demands one to ponder the past and the future.

Until you find the perfect frame, this painting comes ready to hang with d-hooks.

The painting is initialed SR on the front bottom right hand side, and the back contains at least the title, month and year, medium, and canvas size.

Includes a Certificate of Authenticity.