Artists Blog

Enough of the things that can sting/bite/maim/eat you. But only for a while.

Now that school is back, it’s high time I hit the brushes again. Especially now that I have a Royal brush in my hot little hands!

You may remember some time ago that I won a wonderful prize from Winsor & Newton for one of my paintings. They arrived some time ago, but are so precious and awe inspiring that I’ve been too afraid to use them. The brush is the best in the world (with price tag to match - the range of Kolinsky brushes start at a frightening price and go up to a downright scare-the-pants-off-you price: a No.10 brush =$452.40!). They are all handmade, from the tail hairs of the Kolinsky. I bet it can’t be easy to catch a Kolinsky and pull the hairs from it’s tail without a fight - this is obviously where your dollars go.

This from the Winsor & Newton website:

“Series 7 is the world’s finest water colour brush. The standards of quality for this brush were set in 1866, when Her Majesty Queen Victoria gave orders that Winsor & Newton should produce the very finest water colour brushes in her favourite size; the No.7.  

Today, Series 7 is manufactured from only the finest pure Kolinsky Sable hair, in rust-proof, seamless nickel plated ferrules with black polished handles.

Series 7 uses only the highest quality raw materials and enjoys hand made manufacture by our brush makers with years of experience. For larger sizes, each brush is packed into an individual box with a tag included to indicate the name of the Series 7 brush maker who made that particular brush.”

Along with the brush (if that wasn’t enough!) I recieved a box of Gouache tubes as well - Heaven!

Feeling rather special with that HRH Prince Charlie Royal Crest on the box…and it’s comforting to know that “Diana” made this brush.

I’ve collected quite a few photos of all my art adventures over the last few months - I’ve just have been too slack to get them in some sort of cohesive format. Just yesterday I visited the Regional Gallery to see a wonderfully wicked exhibition, and now all my own creative juices are all fired up again.

Stand Back everyone!

Can you guess what this is?

Clue: it’s in a bucket as it’s not too friendly. And it can kill you.

Yes, it’s a Northern Death Adder for those of you that know your snakes. Sorry this photo is a bit blurry, but as I put my camera (and hand!) into the bucket, it showed me an unhappy glare of it’s eye (that black dot in the middle) and I went a bit wobbly.

Happily sunning himself in a spot with lots of people was not a good situation for anyone, so the Relocation Bucket was called in to assist with a move to a less populated area.

Continuing with the reptilian theme, the cheeky (but lazy) Lace Monitor half heartedly climbed a gum when it saw me. It is easily my height from snout to tail tip, but is a scaredy cat at heart. I walked right up to him, and he flattened his face against the trunk as if to say “I’m invisible now, so you’ll forget you ever saw me and go away”.

He has his lovely new skin now, after leaving shreds and tatters of the old one everywhere. I’ve kept some of it ( think Goldmember peeling his skin in Austin Powers - “That’s a keeper!”), and it’s just like pieces of elastic bubblewrap.

Anyway, enough of the Animal Antics for a while (even though I have so many more photos and tales of them!). New subject matter for tomorrow!

As mentioned in my previous post, Australia Day was spent deep in the Rainforest, in the shadow of beautiful Red Peak Mountain. Our gorgeous hosts Sylvia and Pete host an all-out BBQ brekkie on the deck of their rainforest home, overlooking the crystal clear Stony Creek. With toes dipped in the gurgling waters, you imagine you are lost in the wilderness, far far from anywhere civilised.

The whole rainforest feels old, and you almost want to whisper your conversations.

It was such a simple pleasure, sitting atop a rock, letting feet drift in the cool current.

Curious visitors attracted by the intrusion of feet appeared. See how many you can spot in the next photo.

These are Flag Tailed Grunters, apparently quite a pugnacious fish. They were perfectly genteel on this occasion.

 Even Jez (who’s not a fan of fish near his feet) felt relaxed in the “pirahna” infested waters.

I really loved the tangledness of everything. Roots and branches everywhere seemed entwined with each other.

Although with rainforest comes the inhabitants. You may have heard the story in the media recently of the Golden Orb Spider than caught a bird in it’s web and devoured it up here. Our hosts have one happily living next to their back deck.

Pete (in respendent Green & Gold), stands in front of his friend. If he stood behind it, it would easily be the size of his face.

Sorry for the blurriness of this photo - I wasn’t too keen to get really close. You will notice the LONG red fangs, and the beautiful golden colour of it’s web.

As I type this a gentle rain is falling. Not the pounding, drenching monsoon rain, but something soft and sleep inducing. I hope all of you in the south are faring well in the heat wave. 45.7C in Adelaide today. That’s 114F+. Think cool thoughts everyone.

Some of you may remember last Wet Season we had an alarming visitor to our new home in the Tropics (details over at the “old Blog”). He would arrive stealthily in the dead of night, when at your most vulnerable with your ”delicate” bits exposed.

Well, he’s back, and once again I leapt when I turned on the light, ”just in case”, before I sat down.

Yes, the Green Tree/Toilet Frog hath returned.

I didn’t want to startle him (like he did me!) by using the camera flash in the above shot. But when waving my arms and threatening him with a big spoon didn’t phase him, I did try the flash.

Still didn’t budge.

Memories of our last adventure together were not fond. I didn’t check beforehand, and so when I flushed, there he was, hanging on grimly as the whirlpool tried to suck him off the loo wall.

But back to my current dilema. By now the “situation” was getting rather desperate. I didn’t fancy an unlady like squat in the garden, so went off to get the big spoon to scoop him out. By the time I returned, he’d scarpered up the S bend.

I’m sure it won’t be the last I see of him….

The next bit is in response to the lovely Tazar, purveyor of Fine Fish Ear Bones (thanks!) and Thrilling Tabloids.

Australia Day must invoke some strange feline behaviour.

Last night this from the Cat-that-barely-tolerates-canines:

Wot the???

That’s Jez’s feet, oblivious to the newest Dog Groomer in town.

And yes, that is the better part of the dog’s lower back sopping wet with cat saliva.

This went on for a loooong time, with the cat’s eyes closed in bliss, and the dog not unhappy with it either.

Ewwww.

I hope everyone’s Australia Day was a happy one. It was lovely for us, spent in a rainforest house for a sumptuous brekkie, and afterwards our feet in the crystal clear creek below. Photos tomorrow.

You may have heard in the news that ALL of North Queensland (from Townsville up to the tip at Cape York) was blacked out from 5.30 last night. That’s over 700,000 homes and everything else without power. We tried the radio in the cars to find out what was happening but even the stations were’nt transmitting anything but static.

At first it was rather Robinson Crusoe, with candles alight and chatting to people in the street. But once the lack of Air Conditioning kicked in, it lost it’s romantic appeal pretty quickly. My neighbour said that after he checked his fuse box, he went to see if my air conditioners were running. When he saw a still fan, he knew the power must be out everywhere. Operating air conditioners are the one constant in my household, after all I need my AC in the Tropics!

So to “escape the heat” we headed down to one of our spots by the beach, the place where I get my fancy frozen cocktails-in-a-martini-glass. It’s an almost new $4 million  building, so surely they had their own genny. Nope. With only one cash register operating on batteries that were fast running out, the call was for “LAST ROUND”.

“What about first round?” I asked.

“As they’re your first drinks, on the house!” was the reply.

Sipping from deliciously icy glasses, chatting on the balcony overlooking the beach, blackouts were not so bad after all.

But as it was getting dark, the orders were given to lock up and leave. This was the story all over the city. The whole area was deepest black.

Except for one shining light in the darkness - the Golf Course Clubhouse has a genny the size of a whale, so onwards for more refreshments and  most needed AC! A lovely evening in spite of everything.

The power returned later in the evening, and the sort-of explanation today is that a bird’s nest was the culprit. Amazing.

So in keeping with the theme, here are some recent nest builders that have kept me enthralled.

You may remember a previous post where this Willy Wagtail was busily constructing this nest.

Can you see what is sticking out from underneath the white belly feathers?

Two hungry beaks squawking.

As soon as the parents flew away to find food, the little beaks closed, heads drooped and they dropped off to sleep. But as soon as the parents returned, they stretched those beaks wide and clamoured and wailed like any hungry child. All with their eyes closed.

The chores of parents are the same the world over.

Now here’s another sort of nest, and not the traditional kind. More like “where ever I lay my eggs, that’s my home”.

I’ve not seen speckled eggs in the wild before. The mother was standing not far off, and we thought  it odd that she wasn’t running away, until we spied her treasures. We quickly moved off and she was blissful once again.

They still look Jurassic, those Bush Stone Curlews. Waaaaailing away every night, outside the bedroom window, for all the world sounding like they are committing/witnessing bloody murder.

I think we’ve almost kinda used to it now. Almost.

Officially.

Today it was announced that the Type 3 Dengue Fever has now reached epidemic proportions in Cairns, with over 160 cases reported. The worst outbreak since before WWII. This mosquito-borne disease has put people in hospital and can even be fatal.

Fantastic. Yet another thing that can kill you here in this Tropical Paradise. And wouldn’t you know it, our suburb has been named as one of the Hot Spots.

Loads more rain in the past 24 hours. Enough to erode away a rather large puddle straight outside my studio door. A Cane Toad has taken up residence in it and is refusing to budge.

The puddle was caused by a hole in the guttering. Upon closer inspection, this is what I discovered:

Amethystine Python’s change room. The other half of the shed skin was stuck in the downpipe.

Just delightful.

Imagine a love bite so hard it lifts the skin right off your neck?

Here’s the wide screen view:

At least she’s moulting, or that would’ve left one hell’uva hickey!

I’m convinced the Asian House Geckoes perform a different caberet show outside my computer window every evening for my benefit. I’m watching one right now trying to devour a moth he’s caught which is about 3 times his width……almost…..yes, he’s done it! And now he’s stalking a huge flying ant. Gecko Gluttony!

It’s raining heavily again tonight, and the frog chorus are simply delighted.

Sorry no post last night. As wild thunderstorms raged directly overhead, rattling windows and walls, I thought it prudent to switch the Infernal Machine off. On the telly tonight they showed a metre thick diameter concrete & steel power pole snapped off at the base from a local lightening strike. Youch!

Remember the sad tale of my bent over bananas recently? Well, cause for celebration, another tree is now flying the banana republic flag!

I can taste the Chocolate Banana Sundaes already….

The power of water is unimaginable and unstoppable.

Even though cyclone Charlotte never quite reached us here in Cairns, her far reaching effects were certainly felt.

The beaches were hit really hard, with the beach itself pretty much dragged away. Where once there was wide expanses of  golden sand, there are now steep drops and exposed roots. Below is my own beach, Clifton, that I visited on my way to the Post Office this arvo.

“Just a few shots” I said to myself as I stood at the water’s edge. BUT,  whilst taking this photo, a big wave washed over me, my handbag and my dress. Drowned rats have looked more elegant. However, the water was bubblebath warm, so it wasn’t unpleasant, until I remembered the irukandji about….

A quick trip back home, and a change into another dress, handbag and out the door again BUT the Spray truck got me! Wet again in the space of 10 mins.

With the overflow of Dead Man’s Gully, huge deposits of mud and silt clog our gutters and street. The Vacuum Truck tried this morning in vain to take it away:

After 40 mins of sucking and blowing clouds of dust, it was time for the reinforcements:

Filling the tank from the neighbour’s lawn manhole.

Then it’s time to play with a gigantic waterpistol!

He spent a lot of time on our section of driveway, and about 1.5 hours just in our end of the street.

He even gave our driveway the “extra cannons”, which squirt out sideways.

He was a lovely fellow and thoroughly deserved ” Tradie’s Afternoon Tea” (Beer). He diligently said he’d drink it after work though!

I finally made it to the Post Office, sans sea water, beachsand, tank water and mud.

Upon my return I saw that the Vacuum truck had returned, and this time managed to make beautifully swirly patterns in our gutter mud. At least it’s only 4 inches thick now…

And for details of the final withdrawal, we took a look at Trinity Beach this afternoon. It was very heavily damaged by the king tides, with the concrete foundations for not only the swimming nets, but the Life Savers Hut, being washed away. They managed to salvage the Hut with a quick thinking crane operator.

The steps end very abruptly now.

Where the Life Savers hut and the swimming net reels used to be.

The boys, with Yorkey’s Knob in the background on the left. Delightful name for a suburb don’t you think?

What a difference 24 hours makes.

Today the sun was shining and wispy clouds drifted by in a sky so azure it almost looked abnormal.

Late in the afternnoon was overcast, but none of the “torrential rain” predicted. Yet.

Compare these pictures, taken a day apart:

How to confuse a cat.

The creek is calm once again, with the foot bridge now visiblle. Whenever I look at our bridge, I think of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Who’s the Troll under the bridge? Don’t answer that.

The only drawback to the receding waters are the huge amounts of mud and silt left behind. It bakes dry as hard as concrete.

Into town this morning, flying past flattened canefields and latte coloured rivers gushing beneath the road. Once in town you would never have known that it was flooded (in some parts waist deep) only yesterday.

Had a lovely coffee at The Art Cafe, which combines caffeine & original works direct from local artists. Then it was a quick pop into a new Artist’s Collective Studio - The Crate. You may remember these guys (Kristin and Ed) from my previous post on their old studio space.

It’s a huge Industrial space with amazing natural light, right in the middle of town. Quite a few other artists are busy setting up their own studio spaces in this building, so hopefully it will become quite a vibrant hub in the local contemporary art scene.

There’s Ed and Kristin hiding in the corner.

My own art contribution for the day was the purchase of 2 new brushes (like I need MORE brushes!). At least it felt like I was doing something to feed the inner artist!