Mullet Creek, Illawarra 1853
Conrad Martens: Archive | Beagle Journal 1833-4 | Brush Scene, Illawarra 1850-1 | Campbell House 1838-9 ( 2 ) | Four bridges? | Illawarra, 1835 | Mullet Creek, Illawarra 1853 | The Picturesque | Conrad Martens, Mullet Creek, Illawarra , 1853, watercolour on paper, 30 x 43 cm. Collection: Wollongong Art Gallery. In July 1835 the visiting British landscape artist Conrad Martens (1801-1878) took a brief journey on horseback south of Sydney to the Illawarra district, noted for its distinct, picturesque landscape and lush mix of sub-tropical and rainforest vegetation. His aim was to produce a series of pencil and watercolour sketches of the area for use in the production of watercolours and oils for sale to local and overseas clients. One of those finished works was the exquisite 1853 watercolour entitled Mullet Creek, Illawarra , based around a pencil sketch taken on 14 July 1835. Martens' sketches from the Illawarra visit were often heavily annotated with references to col