Day 1: Saturday November 7, 2009 Beechworth
Workshop members will be met at Melbourne airport or Southern Cross Station in the morning and travel by coach to Beechworth, our base for the next 4 nights. Beechworth is one of Victoria’s best-preserved gold rush towns. It was one of Australia’s richest gold fields and the Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct today still abounds in remarkable architecture with over 30 buildings listed by the National Trust. This includes hotels, churches, miner’s cottages and the gaol where the bushranger Ned Kelly was imprisoned. Beechworth is also famous for the Beechworth Bakery. Perhaps try one of their delicious pies or cakes for lunch! The nineteenth century streetscapes will provide wonderful painting opportunities. Welcome drinks will be held in the hotel for workshop members to get to know each other and for David to outline his plans for the tour.

Day 2: Sunday November 8, 2009 Beechworth
After breakfast, David will find a great painting location in Beechworth and complete a demonstration. Following this, he will assist individual workshop members with their painting. A constructive critique session will be held late afternoon.

Day 3: Monday November 9, 2009 Beechworth
After breakfast we will travel by coach to the nearby town of Yackandandah for a full day of painting. Yackandandah has changed little since the nineteenth century and the town is classified by the National Trust. The stately buildings built during the gold rush of the 1800’s as well as shops which have their original fittings and features have often been used in Australian period films and will provide delightful painting opportunities for workshop members.

Day 4: Tuesday November 10, 2009 Beechworth
Today will be spent painting and sightseeing in Beechworth. There will be opportunity to visit some of the National Trust properties in the town. A constructive critique session will be held late afternoon.

Day 5: Wednesday November 11, 2009 Bright
This morning we will travel to Bright, a beautiful town nestled in the Ovens Valley and surrounded by the towering Australian Alps. Bright is another town in the region that prospered during the gold rush. W.H. Pardoe discovered gold in 1853 and despite his attempts to maintain secrecy, 3000 diggers swarmed into the valley within six months. Bright has managed to retain its character and charm, thanks partly to its old-fashioned guesthouses and historical buildings. There will be a chance to visit an old timber house from the 1850s, which now houses Gallery 90. Bright will provide many exciting painting opportunities for workshop members.

Day 6: Thursday November 12, 2009 Bright
David will find a great painting location in Bright and show you how to interpret the subject. Spring is a beautiful time in Bright with the mountains carpeted with colourful wildflowers and with the upper alpine peaks still having snow. A constructive critique session will be held in the afternoon.

Day 7: Friday November 13, 2009 Bright
Today we will enjoy a day of painting at Boyntons Feathertop Winery in Porepunkah. The winery offers stunning views of Mount Buffalo from their terraced gardens and there will be many wonderful painting subjects for workshop members to capture. There will also be an opportunity to savour the exceptional wine and an included lunch at Feathertop Winery. We will return to Bright in the afternoon.

Day 8: Saturday November 14, 2009 Bright
This morning we travel to the picturesque mountain village of Harrietville located along the valley of the Ovens River. Tucked in at the foot of the surrounding slopes of the Ovens Valley, Harrietville will offer many subjects to paint. In the afternoon we will visit Wandiligong, a historic village and the site of a gold rush during the mid-1850s when it saw the population rise to about 2000. The village and the surrounding county side is now classified by the National Trust. The town is set in a picturesque valley surrounded by forests and mountain ranges. On our return to Bright a final critique session will be held before an included dinner.

Day 9: Sunday November 15, 2009 Melbourne
Time to say farewell. After breakfast, we will travel by coach to Melbourne and the workshop will conclude.