In October 2025, eight Australian artists travelled to Ibla, Sicily, to paint together for ten days under the guidance of Castlemaine-based painter David Moore. Working outdoors and directly from life, they each produced two small oil paintings per day in single sessions of around two and a half hours, responding to the distinctive character of this historic hill town, its Baroque architecture, intimate streets and gardens, luminous Sicilian light, and surrounding landscape.

The works presented were all painted en plein air. Created with careful attention to tonal relationships, they retain the immediacy and vitality of direct observation. While each artist brings a personal sensibility, their shared experience of painting side by side lends the exhibition a quiet cohesion.

The exhibition features paintings by Ranee Buckle, Carolyn Davis, Jo Daly, Andrew Littlejohn,

Simon O’Brien, Calan Stanley, Sally Upjohn and Lawrence Walsh offering a collective impression

of Ibla’s atmosphere, light and landscape.

Gallery Details:

Artpuff, The Mill, Castlemaine, Victoria

Open Thursday to Sunday, 11am–5pm