Plein Air Paint Out – Shepherds Lookout with Caroline Reid

Shepherds Lookout – A Day on the Murrumbidgee

Paint the Places you Love

Experience one of Canberra’s most dramatic landscapes while painting on location in the spectacular Murrumbidgee River corridor from Shepherd’s Lookout, West Belconnen

• Dates: 12 December 2026
• Day/Time: Saturday, 9.00am – 3.30pm
• Location: Shepherds Lookout carpark on Stockdill Drive in Belconnen

Our Shepards Lookout workshop is weather dependent and will be rescheduled should it be raining on the day.

If this course books out, please contact us if you would like to be added to a wait list for this or future classes.

Course Description:

This one-day workshop is designed for artists who enjoy working independently while benefiting from individual guidance, discussion and encouragement throughout the day.

Rather than following a step-by-step demonstration, participants will develop their own personal response to the landscape. The tutor will circulate throughout the day, offering one- on-one advice on composition, colour, light, values, perspective and painting techniques suited to each artist’s chosen medium.

Shepherds Lookout sits on the western edge of Belconnen, above the Murrumbidgee River corridor, looking across to the Brindabellas. The cliff below the lookout is part of the steep, rocky country where the Murrumbidgee has cut down through old volcanic bedrock.

From the sweeping morning views across the gorge north along the Murrumbidgee to the intimate details of the river sands below the cliffs and river she-oaks, there are endless subjects to explore.

Working on location, you’ll sketch, photograph, and paint using your preferred medium, developing both observation skills and expressive response to place. We will break hallway through with a relaxed shared picnic lunch, allowing time to reflect, connect, and enjoy this remarkable environment together.

Learning Outcomes:

The Murrumbidgee River corridor offers opportunities to study:

• • Atmospheric distance and layered hills
  • Atmospheric perspective
  • Morning and afternoon light and shadow
  • Flowing water and reflections
  • River native vegetation
  • Granite cliffs, river sands, rapids and other geological forms
  • Colour temperature in sunlight and shade
  • Creating strong compositions and simplifying complex landscapes
  • Simplifying nature into expressive shapes and values

Level of experience: 

Suitable for all skill levels and any medium. Confident beginners who have some experience with their chosen medium are also welcome.

Accessibility: 

• You will need a vehicle for this outdoor workshop.
• We meet at Shepherds Lookout carpark on Stockdill Drive in Belconnen at 9.00am.
• There is a 300m gentle sloping walk from the carpark. The lookout is rocky and can be windy.
• Best to bring a folding seat. It is possible to bring a wheeled painting cart.
• In the afternoon we will have lunch under gum trees and draw and sketch and finish our main landscape paintings.
• We will have lunch here and paint until approximately 3:30.

Driving Directions

• Meet at Shepherds Lookout (car park off Stockdill Drive, Belconnen) at 9.00am

Materials List: 

• En plein air materials of your choice – pastels, oils, water colour or acrylics
• Watercolour sketchbook, pens
• Phone camera
• Hat, folding chair, portable easel or backing board
• Walking shoes
• Your lunch and drink
• Painting trolley
• Small stool

It is rocky and is often windy and exposed at the Lookout in the morning. In the afternoon, we will draw and sketch in the shade of some gum trees

About the tutor:

Caroline Reid is a contemporary Australian landscape artist based in Canberra on Ngunnawal Country. A Master Pastelliste, she is recognised for her expressive soft pastel landscapes, which range from realism and impressionism to her distinctive abstract Wild Light series inspired by the Australian landscape.

Caroline has held numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and in the UK.  She is a Mastrius Artist Mentor, supporting artists worldwide in developing both their technical skills and authentic artistic voice.

A passionate educator, Caroline teaches regular art classes and masterclasses across Australia, specialising in soft pastels, landscape painting, abstraction, light and colour theory, and mixed media. Her workshops encourage artists to paint directly from experience, embrace experimentation, and develop confidence through observation of the natural world.

Each year, Caroline undertakes international artist residencies to immerse herself in new landscapes and cultures. Recent residencies include Ou Atelier in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, and CASA Posidonia in Oliva, Spain, where she explored the relationship between landscape, geology, light and memory through plein air practice.

Originally trained in science, Caroline brings a unique perspective to her teaching, combining artistic practice with an understanding of the science of light, colour, pigments, geology and water. She believes that a deeper understanding of how landscapes are formed enriches the way we see, interpret and paint them.

An adventurous plein air painter, Caroline is known for her energetic and often feisty approach to exploring the Australian bush. She paints only places she has personally experienced and connected with, believing that authentic landscape painting begins with immersion in the land itself.

Her personal artistic motto is simple:
Love Where You Live.

Image credits: Caroline Reid

NatureArt Lab Awards:

2022, Telstra Best of Business Award Winner for Promoting Sustainability, ACT; and National Finalist Award

2024, Telstra Best of Business Award Winner for Building Communities, ACT; and National Finalist Award

2025, Telstra Best of Business Award Finalist for Promoting Sustainability, ACT; and Finalist for Accelerating Women, ACT

2025, Awards Australia Semi-Finalist for Connecting Communities, NSW and ACT; and Semi-Finalist for Small Business Award NSW and ACT.