I was built this way…
And now for a happy one.
This work is called “Utopia Too”.
A few years back now, I painted a work of a lady pegged up by her hair with a series of wires strewn through a cloudy blue sky. This painting was called “Utopia” and at the time it represented my preferred state of mind. It always amused me how baffled most people became when I would try to explain what it represented. I guess I just didn’t have the right words for it at the time. Guess what? I still don’t! That’s why I painted it again.
New ones for July
This one is a two panel painting called “Every Other Day”. On the wall the panels would sit an inch apart.
Detail
Detail
This next one is called “Point of View”. Its not up side down!
And here is a little ink drawing I was mucking around with. “Under the Table”
It is complete! A BIG new one.
Hi! Here is my newest painting, fresh out of the studio. Its larger than any painting I have done before, it stands over two metres tall.
It’s called – “Dressed with Thought”
Charity Auction at UnderArt
WELL! This Thursday the 17th of June, UnderArt is hosting a charity auction. A variety of Cairns artists, including myself, have donated paintings which will be up for grabs in order to raise money for the Children’s Hospital.
The auction kicks off at 6pm, at UnderArt Gallery on the corner of Spence Street and Abbott Street.
Come along and bid for a good cause! See you there!
Palm Cove Art Market 13th June
I’m holding a stall at the markets this weekend. Come along and say hello! Prints of all of my new works are available for the first time, Plus a few of the oldies.
My works on are on display
Hello!
For anyone who happens to be in North Queensland, some of my works are now for sale and being displayed at “Under Art” Gallery on the corner or Spence and Abbott Street in Cairns. Go on in and meet Iefje, the owner of Under Art, who is dedicated to exhibiting and promoting purely original and purely LOCAL artwork.
A small commissioned painting
This painting was quite fun to paint. The only specifications I was given for this commissioned work were – the size of the wall the painting had to fit on, and that it was to include Giraffes and clouds.
Nothing better than doing a painting for a nice, easy going person, who has faith in your ability.
In the past I’ve been known to fret over a commissioned painting for weeks, worrying if its going to be what the buyer is imagining. Of course it never is, until they look at it!
ahhh painting!
I have recently come to the joyous realisation that if I don’t want to explain my paintings, I don’t have to!
I have always had trouble talking to people about individual paintings and answering questions like “why is this particular object placed there?” or “what does this symbolise?” As a result I have tried to make sense of them myself, assigning meanings to different images and I even came up with some concepts long after a painting was completed. After falling into this habit, I noticed myself struggling to create new paintings. When I did manage a new one, the end product seemed boring and contrived, leading me into a downward spiral of artist block! Noooooooo!
Today I picked up a little canvas with an existing image of a pigeon I had painted weeks earlier. I didn’t know why but I saw in my mind a pregnant mime (yes, a knocked-up clown) casually reclining on the pigeon’s back. My brain then went into over drive trying to justify why I should paint a mime at all. What would THAT mean?!?!? I was just about to reach breaking point, abandoning the mime and the day’s attempt at painting all together when it hit me — I don’t paint so I can give other people explanations. I paint because nothing else in this world gives me such a feeling of freedom and sense of pride in who I am. When I paint I can be completely alone; I feel complete and happy no matter what my current circumstance. I painted that mime and it felt good!