Artists Blog

Since returning home to Perth I’m rediscovering treasures hidden away in the shed whilst we were gone. It’s been about 2 and a half years since my Royal Show Ribbon winning calligraphy piece went for a dip in the swimming pool.  I needed to take some catalogue photos, and had laid it out on the only area of paving long enough (it was a very long piece).

Of course the unthinkable happened.

A sudden gust of wind picked it up like a huge sail and threw it into the water. The duck thought it jolly good fun as I plunged in to rescue it.

What I was left with was a sodden mess of individual pages with non-waterproof inks running in all directions. The cat was rather enjoying herself as well,

as it all smelt so fishy when wet….

…that she just had to lick it. Not that it could get any wetter.

Treasures no more. Disgusted with myself, I threw it all on a shelf in the shed where it’s been drying out since July ‘07. When I was looking for some nails in the shed I saw a piece poking out. Looking at them again with fresh eyes I thought it might be worth a go trying to repair some of the water damage. Of course it will never be like the original, but now it’s got “character lines”. The smudges and blurs will always be there, but it’s just more background for the calligraphy to sit upon. I pulled out my pens and got stuck in.

These are just some of the pieces -there are those that are just too far gone to be salvaged, and those that have had their shells damaged (which means more beachcombing to finish the repair job).

But at least it’s got me thinking about a piece for this year’s Royal Show - deadline for submissions in July. Time to sharpen those nibs!

Whenever I need a shot of colour inspiration I turn to the garden. Now that it’s cooler (meaning under 40C/104F!) I’m out there a whole lot more.

Blue Iris feeling fresh in the morning.

Candy Cane Frangipanis scent the air.

Looking down the throat of the Leopard spotted canna lily reminds me of the 1960’s show ”Time Tunnel”.

The hibiscus are madly flowering their heads off, and it’s magic watching them unfold right before your eyes in the morning - from tight bud to full flamboyant bloom in minutes.

Insects are out and about in the dawn light as well. Fly for breakfast anyone?

And of course the bees never stop.

Morning always reveals surprises.

Other winged creatures show up out front at first light.

Then stay for a seista on my front door mat. Gives the Postie a surprise sometimes!

Throughout the day more visitors come and go.

These long beaked Corellas can create carnage to a lawned area in mere minutes.

Watching the blue dragonflies hunt and dance can be quite hypnotic. They look you straight in the eye as well.

Now we have four turtle doves instead of two.

I can feel some botanical drawing/painting urges coming on…

Having a play with my pan paints today, and this bird appeared:

Quite a change from my usual bird paintings!

It rather matches some of the paintings and drawings I did for the Rainbow Catcher (see last 2 posts)

Lots of critters hiding everywhere in my house!

Following on from my last post about the Rainbow Catcher, I’ve included some of the black and white images that were colouring pages in the package. I remember seeing a photo of a classroom where all the children had coloured the same image, but no two were even remotely the same. Imaginations are carefree when you’re young (and hopefully when you’re older too!)

This “Values” package was essentially about 20 creatures who each represented a value. Each creature had their own story to tell and asociated workshop/exercises to accompany it.

It was a lot of work ( 20 x everything), but such a joy to collaborate with such creative people.

These are just a few of the mutlitudes of black and white images. There are just as many images in colour, so when time permits, I’ll scan and upload some more.

For an exhibition late last year I decided to go BIG. Having only ever worked small, painting one sq metre canvases was quite a challenge. I scaled up my Red Girl and then painted her mirror image in blue.

I enjoyed the large scale format so much that I have quite a few canvases (much bigger ones even!), stacked against the wall awaiting their appointment with the big brushes. Quite ironic when I consider  I’m working on miniatures for admission to the Australian Miniature Society!

On a different subject altogether, we seem to be “blessed” with scaly visitors. Not the Pythons of the Far North this time, but something more sinister.

This is a Dugite (Pseudonaja affinis), which can grow up to 2m, and can be fatally venomous (they are of the Brown Snake family). I picked this fellow up out of the gutter, but he had already met an unfortunate end.

And no, those aren’t my hairy legs, they belong to Jez! I’ve buried the snake in the garden, and look forward to unearthing a nice clean specimen skeleton before winter.

Ever heard a motorbike changing gears? Lots of kids imitate this sound when they “ride” around on pretend motorbikes. Well, we’ve had a particular motorbike under our kitchen window for weeks. And now he has a friend. Firstly, click this motorbike-frog.mp3 to listen to our nightly song.

One morning I found our songster haveing a quick dip in the pool.

 Chlorine and frog skin is not a good mix (even the human touch is bad for them), so I fished him out and rinsed him off.

He was back in fine voice late that night.

Two night ago there was a different sounding song under the kitchen window. Something similar to this:spotted-thigh-frog.mp3

He (She?) certainly looked different to the Motorbike frog, but maybe just juvenile. Perhaps it is the Spotted Thigh Frog? (Any froggie experts out there?) At least they aren’t in my toilet at night (see  this post and this post for past scares in the “wee” hours)

Frogs in the garden are a good indicator of a healthy environment, so I’m happy that my “rev head” guests are here.

The  deadly Dugites are another matter entirely…..

Thanks to all of you for your comments, they really mean a lot to me. I have been such a slacker with posting of late - lots of “Real World” goings-on PLUS fighting for the computer = not a lot of posting.

 Another soon-to-be-cyclone is brewing out in the Coral Sea. Bring on the Dry Season and soon!

I’ve been stewing on all the things I’ve got on my “To Do” list as well. I don’t physically have a written down list, just a mental note that seems to be growing by the hour! When did organising one’s life get so hard?

Still, whenever things seem to get overwhelming, a walk and sit outside brings everything back into focus. There are hundreds of butterflies around at the moment, on a manic mission to drink lots of sugar and mate. Not a bad lifestyle really.

This dusk shot of the brilliant blue Ulysses is a bit grainy, but the blue was just so intense in the evening light.

Pink pegs on the clothesline are a favourtie spot for these Eggfly butterflies, who are so often dancing duets in the air - circling round and around each other but never colliding.

I’m feeling a bit disillusioined with art at the moment. So many Galleries have closed down here in Cairns. Lots of artists have lost money and trust. The economic woes of the world has really hit hard in this tourist town - lots of businesses are really doing it tough. On a brighter note I have ben invited to “try out” for the Miniature Society - they have two judged intakes per year - the next being in April. I need to complete 6 pieces (no bigger then 10cm on the longer side) to be considered. I’ve only ever done the one miniature for the exhibition late last year.

Still not sure whether I’m up to the task - more stewing on the subject required!

Cyclone Hamish certainly knows how to stir it up, even if he can’t make up his mind where he’s headed.

Yesterday Clifton Beach had a foreboding feel hanging over it.

If you look very carefully on the horizon you can just make out the shape of something luxurious…

…with a much more mundane friend beside it. I wonder if that’s the vessel that lost those 33 containers of Ammonia Nitrate, with another 3 tonnes spilt on deck. But don’t panic, it won’t explode unless it comes into contact with heat or chlorine….

Whilst on the subject of all things awash, we were pelted with such heavy rain late yesterday that we had several creeks running all throughout the yard and patio. I stepped onto the paving that was submerged up to my ankles and a tiny frogged grabbed my foot as it sailed past. It was headed for the white water rapids at the BBQ, and then the waterfall down the side gate. I rescued him and a couple of buddies till conditions eased.

Not sure if they were happy being turfed out of the Frog Hilton later that night, but I’m sure they’d want to join the DEAFENING CHORUS of their bazillion mates in the creek out front!

A: The orthodontists’s quote this afternoon.

It’s around $6,000 to fill a teenager’s mouth with metal these days.

When we arrived home after the orthodontic shock, I noticed what seemed to be a patterned scarf near the back fence. It was under the Tree of Death, but as there were Peaceful Doves around it, I thought no way it could a Python. Again.

Wrong.

As I walked up to it I was able to see the final few gulps of wing feathers down it’s mouth.

How did he sneak up on a cocky during the day? They are usually nocturnal hunters. Cocky must’ve been really engrossed in something else.

The cat was freaking out, and performed 3 ft vertical jumps everytime it moved. The vets have warned about pets outside at night. Now I’ll have the joy of worrying during sunlight hours as well…

It wasn’t long before those final feathers were forced down that loooong throat.

Then lots of wriggling and stretching to force the whole “lump” further down it’s body. It almost looked as if the unfortunate bird was still alive in there.

It then rested it’s head in the fork of The Tree of Death for a while. It’s tongue was flickering every time I moved. Try as I might, I couldn’t quite capture the split second it flickered.

This was the smallest of the 3 pythons that have had a cocky meal here. This one was around 2 metres, maybe a tad more. The next shot is of it making an exit, stage left, with it’s head already under the fence. It did get stuck around it’s middle, and wriggled and danced till it made it through. Then it was back to the bush to sleep it off for a few weeks.

I hope that this is the last Python saga I have to tell for a good while, although word must be spreading in the serpent world about the smorgasboard by the back fence…

To finish on a more cute’n'cuddly note, someone else was enjoying a meal this morning:

I seem to be overrun with snakes and spiders.

“If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise….”

As I came up to the metre wide trunk of this tree, I wondered where the other half of the resident was - the pointy half.

Tip-toeing quietly around the tree trunk, (which was perched on a steep slope above a very rocky creek bed some metres below), I found this:

One ex-wallaby and a very satisfied Scrubby (Amethystine Python).

That’s dinner taken care of for the next 6 months or so. Would that be considered yo-yo dieting?