Australian Travel Series of Essays

More than 20 years ago, the Australian Weng Zhenru Art Charitable Foundation held the first ink painting competition in Melbourne. I entered the competition with a meticulous landscape painting "Hometown Month". The work was written by a part-time ghostwriter and depicts the moonlight in a cottage. The brushwork is delicate and the mood is hazy. It stood out from thousands of paintings and won a bronze medal and was collected. I once wanted to go to Melbourne to see the collection place in person, but because my parents were old and busy with studio affairs, I was unable to make the trip, so I had to suppress my longing. For the next twenty years, I never set foot in the Southern Hemisphere again. After my daughter graduated and immigrated to Australia, she often called her and said, "Dad, you will definitely like it here." However, the Australia in my impression was always distant and vague. Last spring, my wife and I finally flew to Australia with our luggage and albums. It is autumn in Melbourne at this time, and the maple leaves are turning red. This trip was not only for a reunion, but I also wanted to visit the museums and galleries there and meet local artists. This fate, which has been stranded for more than 20 years, continues quietly in the autumn of life.