Blue Stone Cottage Studio

Blue Stone Cottage Studio is set in acreage in a bushland area, not far from Ballarat. It adjoins Blue Stone Cottage, where I live with my family, and our new kelpie retriever cross rescue dog, Ginny Red. I love my studio, which is perfect not only for making art, but also for viewing. It is very difficult to create large paintings without the room to step back and get a good look at them as you work, so this space has been of tremendous value to me.

There is plenty of room to move around, have a look at the art and chat to visitors. It is quite a special thing to have a space where I can meet people who take an interest in my work and talk to them about it.

The property is set back on a quiet wooded road, close to the historic village of Smythesdale, with its antique shop, 'Thru the Gate Cafe' and Court House bistro.  A little way from the Haddon studio, you will find the fantastically well-stocked 'Avalon' garden centre, and 'In the Sticks Cafe'. The wonderful 50km Ballarat to Skipton Rail Trail is nearby.  Just around the corner there are the studio galleries of painter Kate Wise, award-winning print-maker Vida Pearson and artisanal furniture-maker Fred Ross (ask for details from the studio here), and a few minutes drive away there is the Raintree Art Gallery, with a wonderful array of original first nations artworks and designed products. All these venues taken together make up the Hidden Gems Artist Studios initiative.

Ballarat itself, a beautiful old gold-rush city, is about fifteen minutes away, and offers some memorable cultural experiences including the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Sovereign Hill - a journey back in time to the gold rush. Ballarat hosts the Archibald Prize, the Biennale of Australian Art, Ballarat International Foto Biennale and White Nights.  It has a thriving art and music scene. It is about an hour and a half from Melbourne by car, and provides for a memorable day out or weekend away from the city. Daylesford is also a short drive away, with its many attractions, I may have consignments of work available in the exceptionally beautiful Convent Gallery. A visit to Blue Stone Cottage Studio can be easily combined with a tour of any of these lovely places.