Artists Blog

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!

Image courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology

Cyclone Hamish could be here as early as tomorrow night/saturday morning. There goes the weekend plans of exploring the Tablelands. Still, might be less crowded at the Coffee Plantation.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on the last post. I was hoping to be able to get a lot of painting done, but the Evil Taxation Return had other plans for me. It’s still not completed, and it’s like an infected thorn sticking in my toe. I was wading waist deep in papers, some going back to the 90’s, which thankfully are on their way to a new life in the reincarnation recycling bin. You know what it’s like, once I get bitten by the Purge Bug, I keep doggedly on, ripping up old bank statments with maniacal glee. Tax returns from the 80’s (just how did we survive on incomes so low?) even surfaced. I used to keep everything. Just in case. (Margie I can hear you laughing from here you know…)

Anyway, in an effort to tear myself away from all things mind numbing and soul destroying, I unwrapped a beautiful new Italian sketchbook (The Moleskine) this evening, and felt quite inspired admiring it’s creamy blank pages. Elli commented on linework in the last post, and linework is just what I need right now. There is an exhibition entitled “Line” closing soon, so I need to get a wriggle on. The lovely Elli also commented on museums being the source/inspiration for good work, and I do sadly miss them living up here. One of my favourite was the London Natural History Museum. I could live there and never ever get bored. The moment you set foot in that wonderous building you feel awe (and that Harry Potter might appear any minute). When I was there a while back I took so many (poor) photos. (This was still the age of film). I really think it inspired me to build my own naturalist’s collection, which I have been doing since I was a wee thing, much to my mother’s disdain. A decomposing red-bellied black snakes’s skin was binned whilst I was at school one day.

Everything was just so beautifully presented in polished timber cases. Did  anyone see the ABC’s recent series on the London Museum? How pedantic were they with dust getting into displays? Amazing dedication.

And the organisation - oh! It made me want to swoon.

So once back in Perth I built up a collection, mainly of beachy things, as we lived on the coast. After winter storms were the best time for finding unusual things, when the sea bed was trawled up and dumped on the sand. A lot of it stunk to high heaven, even after lots of bleach was involved. An outside collection was the best place until the smell disappeared.

When I proposed a piece for a Royal Show exhibition, I turned to my collection. I was able to use my finds, and gathered knowledge to put together a huge body of work, which won the Blue Ribbon at the Show. It met an untimely demise which I haven’t written about, but I did post some better photos under a post (click) HERE.

Below are some really bad photos from the film days.

So now I’m really keen to get some of my Tropical finds down on paper, captured in lines. Maybe even a splash of colour as well.

The Tax can wait.

Even though it was 33 deg C today, there is a definate change in the air. Even though the radio said the relative humidity at 8am last week was 94%, the mornings feel different. We really only have two seasons up here, Wet and Dry, and it’s been an amazingly dry week. (I may have put the mocker on  myself as there is talk of a cyclone forming by the end of the week - Cyclone Hamish). Last year March was the wettest time of the year - who knows what’s in store?

You can’t fool the plants though. We have decidious trees in the street - the Beach Almond (the bat’s & cockies fave). Whilst they are nude for only a fraction of time, they do drop their leaves. They go from deep emerald green to fire red canopy.  It seems one leaf is extra keen.

And speaking of nudes, here is one I did late last year at uni. We had to choose an artist whose palette knife technique we admired, and to emulate that style in a painting of our own. I can’t recall his name, but I do remember the vibrancy and movement he captured in his work. First nude and first palette knife painting. It was quite quick, around an hour and a half, but man did you use up a lot of paint! With some colours at $38 per tube, oil painting is NOT cheap.

Hope you are all enjoying Autumn wherever you may be!

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.

Today the Governement sent in agents to launch a recon mission in my end of the street/creek and my yard. Their mission was to seek (and if necessary, destroy) a foreign invader - The Evil Electric Ant. 

In January, an infestation of these native South American Ants was discovered a few hundred metres away in the resort grounds across the bush from my house. They are not a friendly insect to stumble upon. These ants inject painful venom when they sting, they specifically attack the eyeballs of other animals, including pets, and can blind them. They attack birds and nestlings and farm scale insects. Bad for crops. All round nasty guys.

All week the DPI guys and girls have been laying baits to see if any had spread to our streeet and homes. Today was my turn.

That’s Steve checking bait traps on the banks of Deadman’s Gully. You can see the little pink ribbons where he laid traps inside my front fence.

About 2 dozen baits were laid around my yard, including the herb pots. The Electric ants are gourmets. They will only go for the expensive Don Sausage.

Steve checking the baits after an hour. He was such a knowledgable guy. We yakked for ages about the wonderful biodiversity of this area. He checked out a few insect species for me, as well as my tadpole ponds, which he’s hopeful are NOT canetoads.

This man has spent many years researching wild lion prides in South Africa. He says it’s was an amazing, sometimes heartbreaking, experience. To be checking for ants is quite a bit less stressful than facing a poacher with a semi-automatic machine gun!

We got the all clear - no baddies on our block.

Here is some info from their site:

The electric ant is golden brown in colour and 1 - 1.5mm in length

Overview

Description

Electric ants:

No, it’s not this beautiful girl. She was newly “hatched” yesterday evening, with wings drying out, and happy to be photographed. She was quite an uplifting sight after the sadness of the past few days, so I thought I’d share her.

This is my new Bouncer:

When my face, nor the dog’s, scared my 3.45am visitor, I resorted to desperate measures.

‘Cos when you gotta go, he’s gotta go!

And he did just that, back up the S Bend, after seeing the Cat.

Does anyone else have to face such Toilet Anxiety?

Another day of highs and lows for the country. Triumphs, no matter how small, are good for mind and spirit.

Seeing the fireman hold his waterbottle to ”Sam” the koala’s mouth was quite emotional. Apparently she’s made the New York and London Times news.The RSPCA and vets  are on hand at the site now to render assistance to those that cannot speak for themselves. Wildlife volunteers have a list of missing pets, and are combing the streets in search of them. Burnt horses, geese, goats, wallabies, kangaroos and koalas are all receiving gentle care. They even found a peacock in a toilet block!

Great to see so many people rally with goods/food (even hot pizzas!), sharing what they have with those that now have nothing. “Mateship” at it’s best.

Another triumph was the opening of the Highway up to the North today. 500 trucks are making their way up here to restock shelves. “Creative cooking” with limited ingredients will be over soon! I hope they hurry, more heavy rain to the south is bucketing as we speak.

Yesterday was a miserable day, with my head being crushed whilst “driving the porcelain bus” (luckily the Gree Tree Frog has moved out!). I was convinced that I had Dengue Fever. Today, a rapid recovery - obviously not Dengue, and therefore no more sympathy.

Off to the Supermarket. A waste of time really.

                           No meat,

          No yoghurt,

No frozen veg either. I did notice that they had some fresh potatoes left. They are occupying the space the bananas and other fruit used to.

However, if you are a Spectacled Bat, then the Beach Almond trees out the front of our house are all the sustenance you need. These guys were out very early in the evening (they usually appear after dusk), due to all the rain I think. (sorry the photos are pretty grainy as there wasn’t much light)

There was another one of him having a rather large widdle, but obviously too much in bad taste to post (and blurry!).

So we are still cut off from the rest of the country. I spoke to the Post Office today. No parcels coming IN or OUT of Cairns for the last 2 weeks, and maybe a couple more. Lots of red tape involved - if  the “No Dangerous Goods” sticker is not signed (as for all Road and Rail items), they cannot be loaded on a plane and flown out.

A last note - my heart goes out to all the people and animals involved in the tragic fires down south. It is so so sad, and hopefully the rest of us can chip in and help where we can. Every little bit counts.

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts. Whilst we’re still cut off by road and rail, at least supplies are getting through. The charted ship from Townsville arrived overnight with 40 sea containers of stock. Supermarket shelves  were being restocked as I was raiding the Chemist’s Darral Lea chocolate stand. Emergency Managment Queensland (who look after disaster management arrangements) have chartered a Qantas 747 full of goodies from Brisbane to arrive in Cairns shortly. Not sure how long the petrol will last though….

Local producers have enjoyed the extra customers.  I should be buying direct from the farmer more often, even if it means going a little out of my way. Things are so much fresher and juicier. Today we bought some dragonfruit and red mangoes for lunch. Everyone’s seen mangoes, so I’ll just show you the luscious dragonfruit:

The colours were amazing, even more so when the last of their insides were scooped out:

    Such hot pinks I’ve never seen in fruit before.

We were even given samples of the fruit dried - just like crunchy cotton candy/fairy floss. I’ll be back for more next weekend for sure!

Another surprise was what was in today’s paper - another of my “Python eating a cockatoo”  shots. It seems to go on and on and on….

Here’s the better quality original:

The constant rain is sending us gifts of frogs and tadpoles everywhere. I had a big tub out the back which filled with water last week. This week it is full of tadpoles (not toadpoles thankfully). I’m pretty sure they are green tree frog tadpoles, although accurate tadpole identification is not one of my strong suits. They are happily munching away on lettuce and other goodies now.

Another froggie (2-D) has surfaced this week also. Whilst cleaning out my portfolio, quite a few illustrations from years ago surfaced (for an school educational DVD). When I painted this little guy, I had never seen a real Green Tree Frog, and thought it was unlikely I ever would. Just goes to show you should never say never!

I knew it was a bad sign when all the Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot biscuits had sold out from two stores on the weekend.

We are cut off in the Far North up here. Roads and rail are impassable with rivers that have burst their banks. Poor Ingham is still under water (The water peaked at over 12 metres). Even the Internet was cut off in Cairns yesterday due to flooding.

The supermarkets are in dire straits. A ship has been chartered to bring containers of groceries up from Townsville.

This was my local supermarket today.

How lonely does this eggplant / aubergine look?

This was the fresh produce section, but the empty shelves were repeated in almost every aisle.

Most alarming of all was the rapidly thinning chocolate aisle. If it keeps going at this rate, I’ll have to break into and, heaven forbid, share my Secret Stash soon. And to top it all off? There could be a chance of not 1, but 2 more cyclones by the weekend.

Still, there might be a market for scalping chocolate and milk arrowroot biscuits!

Listening to: The Acorn, Flood Pt 1