WHEN the first day of summer broke over the horizon in December last year, Newcastle artists Dino Consalvo, Peter Lankas and John Earle were there to capture the moment.
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For the next six months the three friends met on and off at various locations around Newcastle's coastline with their sketch pads, canvasses and brushes as dawn broke.
The pieces they created for the Dawn Patrol exhibition are on display at Gallery 139 this month.
For Earle the early mornings were a struggle; the self-confessed late riser was used to working into the night.
"It was a battle," he said. "Dino and Peter would do more of their work on location, en plein air, where I would do more in the studio."
Earle is known for his detailed work, with his paintings often likened to a photograph.
Lankas, an impressionist artist, sits at the other end of spectrum.
He often makes his own paint using eggs and pigment, creating dramatic skylines with broad brush strokes and bold colour palettes.
Consalvo sits somewhere in between the two, painting realistic but dark landscapes.
He uses a technique called sgraffito, scratching away the top darker layers with the tip of his paintbrush to reveal pops of light underneath.
■ Dawn Patrol is on at Gallery 139, Beaumont Street, Hamilton until Saturday, August 22.