Without knowing for sure, it appears we have discovered some very old oil paintings executed by the same artist.
The signature on the back of two of the paintings may read 'L. H. Howe'. We have no dates or other details, and the details below are just our own descriptors.
Dominated by sepia tones, these landscapes possess a moodiness in both the sky and land. They don't feel like Australian places, so perhaps these originate from England/Europe or perhaps they are inspired by an oversease adventure?
Found in this state. We have not attempted to clean these paintings!
Painting 1: 64x33cm. A shepherd and his flock heading home. A small flock and their minder are travelling down a country road. They may be heading home or on a long journey, but they are certainly approaching a place to rest. This painting has a large blemish to the right and a small hole to the left.
Painting 2: 64x33cm. Also a shepherd scene. The shepherd and his flock have company (hard to make out, they are by the trees to the right). Could they be his family? This time it feels like sunset and a body of water in the foreground contrasts with the heavy sepia and rouge tones elsewhwere.
Painting 3: 51.5x41cm. A rocky cove vista with windswept trees and a cloud filled sky. There's a lightness to this painting when compared the others.No signature can be seen on this painting.