Building Character

Still enjoying this one, it's mesmerising watching the pic emerge - time goes so fast on Tuesday evenings - and I come home covered in paint, well covered for me but no doubt Pro Hart would laugh at my claim, but I actually don't care, not about what Pro Hart would think, I don't care that I'm covered in paint which for me is a breakthru - well it maybe a bit of problem with the new white sheets so I'll have to scrub with art supply verison of solvol before I go to bed .. but I digress - here's the pic so far - currently I'm defining Freya. It will take me a few weeks of course because I'm terribly new at this but I can see the little darling emerge.

These days I sit in my lounge room from Tuesday to Tuesday staring unblinkingly at the current scratching and editing it in my mind - I'm loving loving loving this one but can't wait to get started on all the others that are currently queued in my head ...

Family

Oh I am loving this one - and I can't do faces which is ironic.

Well it was going to be 'stones' honest but it ended up being a portrait of Dirk & Freya taken at Sandon Xmas 2005 or was it six.. time is kind of bleeding together .... you have to remember I can't do faces but I am trying to learn. Which is of course why I'm paying someone to teach me.

More 'stones' will happen of course - but I don't need lessons for 'stones' and I can do 'stones' at home so there will always be 'stones' - I have many 'stones' to get out of my system. So, anyway I'm thinking maybe get with the program and get taught something while I have the chance ... like faces.

The canvas is crazy shaped - a metre by forty cms or something and I've cropped the pic something severe - even Linda my wonderful teacher has her doubts.... but I'm loving it! and I'm loving the Tuesday nights.

When it's finished I'm hoping I will have managed to show the wonderful connection between these two people. As general excuse for communication they squabble and bicker like 'Tom & Jerry' but they are so unbelievabley connected it's like natural magic...

What's I'm doing at the moment is just marking in the features - it bears little resemblance to how it should look but eventually it should develop into a likeness (OR TWO). At the moment I'm just roughly placing the features.

Oh god I hope it works ... Did I say I'm loving it?

Damn it would be wonderful to be paid to do this 24/7

Stoned

this is the latest that I've been obsessing about lately - I have a crick in the neck but it's worth it for the meditative state you have to go into to paint each individual pebble.

still a few more to go ....

Bingara Farm

Well I hope she likes it, Floss that is.. am still not convinced it's finished it looks too flat and too 'two dimensional'. The tops of trees need a lot more work and the dead tree looks like a refugee from a Dali experiment, and well the middle pooch, poor didge, just doesn't seem to have evolved as intended... but apparently it's finished.

This week has started badly, first the car accident - which was not my fault but doesn't alter the fact that my little car now resembles a hatchback plague victim with all many strategic 'pock' marks adorning it's hind quarters and the latest scar though not structural, technically 'writes' the little red beast off, and I'm still shaking and the the confidence is not great; then I had to miss the office Xmas Party, which well - I'm not a Xmas party person but it does leave my co workers with the idea I'm anti social which is ... okay yes the truth these days but still it's not good form ... today also involved a visit to the dentist - though I have a great dentist and I did score points for excellent flossing; and to top off the second week of December, a rather large cheque which was supposed to assist with the mortgage seems to have gone missing curtesy Aust Post.... but my painting's finished, I think... well peoples say is though really I think the jury's still out ...

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink ...

... there are many things about Melbourne I am loving but proximity to the beaches is not one of them - Surf beaches that is, port or harbour beaches barely make it as water ways and I'm sorry to say that Balmoral has it all over St Kilda in the waterworks stakes - hands down, storm drains and all.

It would be honest to say that I've been spoiled for beaches in the past living in Sydney and holidaying on the far north coast of NSW, absolutely spoiled rotten!!! Queensland beaches are 'in' with a good chance but if you go too far north you hit 'stingers', mangroves and grey tidal mud becasue you see, it's all a combination of sun, surf'n'sand and there are pretty much only two states that can offer a decent combo of all three ... which is why this second(or rather my first) painting happened - Bunbury Beach WA at sunset - the water was this intense green and the ocean itself to overflowing, so heavy and cold and with a depth reminiscent of myth & lengend. Well it did when I photographed it at last light, last April.

The painting, though in reality it's not nearly as dark as this jpg (the better .pdf file just wouldn't load), is not a patch on reality and irksomely reminds me of those icky Baliness 'student' paintings people were pestered with door to door in the late 70's - it kind of has this almost 'flock'(spelling?) look to it don't you agree .... but it's posted here because it reminds me of how much I've loved Tuesday nights this year and the lovely and talented people I enjoy painting beside.

Sunday Too Far Away

... and I'm not even a shearer, but it's in keeping with my latest painting and it works with the fact that it's only Wednesday.

I'm doing this one for a friend who lives over in the west and who's battling to keep the family farm actually in the family. Bugg*r is that various plagues have been sent to slay her and I'd reckon if you count back the generations she may well be descended from Job.

Hoping this may cheer her up - may be an incy bit. Of course the painting still has a way to go yet, shadow, detail and much, much more, in fact one tree is completely missing, but will hopefully getto her by about Easter as a late seasonal gift.

It's mainly being painted for the memory of the middle hound, a dog of gentle though manic disposition who sadly took on the wrong end of a visitors ute in late April this year and lost the argument rather permanently.



R.I.P "Didge" ...

Brain Dead

Very quickly cos it's late and I'm a bit knackered.

Went to art lessons tonight loved it - wonderful therapy - forgot my paints though, hence the title of this blogg. However, my class mates were most generous and lent me dabs of colours. How do you pay back generosity like that? In fact how do you repay paint.

Anyway thought I'd upload this one to the blogg .. long way to go yet, yes - complete novice and lifes a learning process. I'm enjoying this painting, it's meditative and a great way to chillout - probably a good idea to note that the pic was taken with a mobile phone and flouros aren't great for detail. there is a lot more yellow and russet in the trees.

Ahhh speaking of russett - red wine calls......