Exhibition at Nest

This weekend Café Nest is holding their annual art exhibition, with artists from all around the traps. This year the theme is Spring. While the phrases in these paintings are obviously derived from The 12 Days of Christmas, and therefore aren't technically spring-themed, I figure Spring is the season wherein these birds were created. And so it stands to reason that without Spring, there wouldn't be a 12 Days of Christmas (as we know it at least). I'm convinced anyway!

#14 & 15 (and the last — for now...)

The most recent addition to the series, following a hiatus of over a year (how could I!). These were done just a couple of weeks ago. Summer and Winter by the sea, inspired by two of my favourite central coast beaches. A prize if you can guess which ones!

#12 & 13

This would have to be my favourite diptych so far. Inspired after watching numerous surf films, numerous times. I'm still working on the whole hanging ten thing, but what can I say, it's good to have goals.

#11

Inspiration can come from funny places... I spend a lot of time on the computer. Over the years, the Apple Mac trash can has proven both trusty comrade, and formidable foe. It's about time it was immortalised, at least by me.

#9 & 10

I've always wanted to create an artwork with "after" in the title; as in it was either inspired by, or directly ripped off from, somebody else.

The panel on the left is called "Apple — After Dick Bruna, Holly Throsby and Dee Huxley". The panel on the right is called "Grenade — After Dick Bruna, Sylvester Stallone and Ghandi".

Incidentally, Dee Huxley is the person who first taught me to use gouache — and I suspect that if she knew how I was using it now, she never would have let me pass first year colour class.

#8

This painting was inspired by the Book of Genesis. At the time I hadn't used gouache for many years (since design school), and it is here that I re-learned that undiluted gouache can crack up big time.

#7

I painted this in 2008 at an end-of-year church camp at Broken Bay. Instead of drinking tea and eating sponge cake (or whatever it is church ladies usually do) we all sat around and played with my paints for a few hours. Tops stuff. Perhaps inspired by the laundry facilities typical to a communal camp, this one is called "Coin Operated".

#6

I have no idea what this means. But I think he's cute, in a sinister kind of way.

#5

"The Longreef area of Sydney's Northern beaches offers a wide selection of reef and beach breaks that work in a wide variety of swell and wind conditions. There are plenty of reef breaks to found in this area."

From Mark Warren's Atlas of Australian Surfing, 1988.

#4

Then, it was electric.

#3

I don't know if the Thunderbird is 100% anatomically correct.

10 Squared

In 2007 I decided to create a series of 5 inch x 5 inch paintings. The goal is to paint 100 of them (that's where the 10 squared comes from).

I do a painting whenever I get time. So far, I've averaged 1 painting every 2.5 months. I'm currently up to 15.

I think it's safe to say it's going to take me a while!

This little diptych constitutes paintings # 1 & 2.