painting Archives - Page 3 of 8 - Destination's Journey

19 November 202217 November 2022

Katoomba Cultural Centre

Located in the centre of Katoomba the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre contains the Blue Mountains City Art Gallery and Into the Blue which is an interactive exhibition that explores the history and natural landscape of the Blue Mountains. Also housed in the building, is the Katoomba Library.

Into the Blue

Into the Blue is an interactive exhibition which explains the history of the Blue Mountains. Not only does it detail indigenous and European history, but it explains the geological history of the area. This details how the mountains formed and how weather and rivers have sculpted the landscape to become what it is today.

Native animals and plants are described along with the impact development has had on their populations. The importance of the World Heritage listing is explained along with how this is protecting this beautiful and unique environment.

Blue Mountains City Art Gallery

Vicky Brown

This was a fun and interesting exhibit, as most of the parts were moving. Those suspended from the roof were free to move, while on the floor, mobile pieces built on robot vacuum cleaners knocked into them. We found this exhibition to be happily different and well presented.

Adrienne Richards

The works by Adrienne Richards was a more traditional exhibit, with some lovely ceramics and drawings. A series of ceramic plates were on one wall, with paintings of invertebrates were in glass cases.

Katoomba Cultural Centre

Located outside the art gallery, a viewing platform gives views over Katoomba and the Jamison Valley. The gallery has placed a sculpture here.

Our photos are available for purchase on

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

16 April 202216 April 2022

National Gallery of Australia

National Gallery of Australia

Located on the south side of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, the National Gallery of Australia houses the most valuable art collection in the country. Limited parking is available onsite, but we chose to park at Questacon, where a large carpark is available. This also means that you are close to other attractions in the area without needing to move your car.

Entry to the gallery is free, but you will need to get an entry ticket from the front counter. However, some special exhibitions may have an entry fees. If you have bags or coats you don’t want to carry around with you, self storage lockers are available free of charge.

The collection comprises over 155,000 works of art, including the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. With artwork from around the world, there is something here for everyone.

We enjoyed walking through the galleries, particularly the unique Indigenous section.

Trucaninny, the last full-blood Tasmanian aboriginal National Gallery of Australia — Aboriginal Message Sticks

For other places to visit in the Australian Capital Territory click here

13 April 202211 April 2022

National Portrait Gallery Canberra

Photographic Portraits National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery Canberra

Opened in 2008, the National Portrait Gallery houses portraits of prominent Australians who are important in their field of endeavour or whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest.

Located next o the High Court of Australia and across the road from the National Gallery of Australia, it’s easy to find. We parked at the Questacon Car Park, because we intended to see other attractions in the area. This is a paid car park, but there are usually spaces available, and it’s centrally located. Parking is available at the National Gallery, but this fills quickly.

On entering the gallery, you are met by the sculpture Geo Face Distributor, popularly known as the orange blob. Apparently you can see different faces depending on how you look at it, but we could only see a blob.

Walking around the galleries, we could identify many of the portraits, without reading the descriptions. Obvious Government officials (Quentin Bryce the Governor General) and Justice Michael Kirby were present, but not walls full of ex-Prime Ministers, which we were pleased about.

It was great to see actors like Deborah Mailman, Hugh Jackman and Ruth Cracknell along with cricketer Shane Warne. Important indigenous leaders like Pat Dodson and Richard Walley were also present.

What Did We Think?

This was an interesting gallery to visit because of the variety of people represented. Entry is free, unless you want to go to any special exhibits that are on. After finishing, we went next door to the National Gallery of Australia.