Saturday, November 26, 2016

The Bridge from the Harbour View hotel

I went down to the Harbour View hotel in the Rocks following a suggestion from Andy. This is a drawing from one of the tables out the front. There's some good views and nice shaded spots to sit so I'll probably paint a landscape or 2 around there

Friday, November 25, 2016

At Roslyn Oxley



Fred(at right) and friends on Roslyn Oxley's balcony

I went on a bit of a gallery crawl with Martin Walsh last night. At Martin Browne we saw some hyper-ethereal gardens with Dr Suess trees. All the water was painted in horizontal bands of a light dark gradient(ie light on water), but all the bands same height. And the land all painted in kind of 2D swales.  An odd effect, The miniatures - of similar scenes- were more to my taste, anyway one beer was enough.

We went to Roslyn Oxley where the main room was filled with theatrical photos by David Noonan of performers making up etc, printed over with masks. One gave the strong sense of a Chinese stage demon, another was pouting in profile like a combo of Boy George and Tripitaka. I wasn't so sure about the Hammurabi's beard motifs in the backroom by Renee So.

Then we went out to chat and drink on the balcony.I'm hoping Martin call recallthe names of the others in the sketch

Thursday, November 24, 2016

T Rabbit's Briefs

The skull with lips - Tony Abbott's duck-footed charge- a little thing I'm doing with leftover paint.

I post the finished painting over on the political geometry page


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Elgin Marbles Psychedelia

He saw things like it and he Lost it 
No artist of his time or ours could sculpt. Like this 
He initially send his Otalian architect that was responsible for decorating his Villa , to make some drawings from the marbles in order to copy them 
But Who would sculpt like gods did 
Who could imitate the god's work 
Well , in reality , the gods who sculpted them there where just average Athenian citizens ,Not sculptors , taking instractions from Fedias the sculptor , architect ecc of Acropolis 
They where Not made by any gods or goats , Just Free citizens having a party
The psychedelic pass time of the time 
Had a Victory ? Let us all celebrate with Orgies , symposiums ecc and by the way Lets sculpt , let's make a Strong Fort ( Axropolis ) and show off to our jealous neighbors how Rich and talented we are 
Plain Human feel , Nothing godly 
Just TRIPPY ART 

Tuesday at the Record Crate

 Justo with Pete and Marguerite

Marguerite Montes and Pete Urquhart did their regular Tuesday night show with guests Oscar and Justo jamming and playing some of their songs

 
Altogether at the end of the night


Mike's hat


Oscar

Monday, November 21, 2016

Glebe Fair


  

I went out drawing at Glebe Fair with rock and roll star Celia Curtis(White Knuckle Fever, Stone Cold Fox). Here she's is drawing the scene. One os Celia's day jobs is drawing beetles for the National Museum. So cool.

If Celia sends me pics of her drawings I'll post them here later, as well  one I haven't scanned yet.

I'm going to make a Sunday arvo drawing and art party a semi regular thing, so I'll post on facebook and twitter (@subgeometer) the day before if I'm going out, and then when I actually do


Behind the stalls near the Record Crate, and just down from the incredibly smoky churrasco bbq. The nearby shops, like the wedding shop it was outside, totally filled with smoe. It could have been better sited. 




Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Dowling St for Alex - The Gypsy King's house

Dowling St, A painting of Alex's house in Dowling St, Woolloomooloo, a commission ( if you would like to commission a painting, don't be shy to ask, I like doing them)



The finished painting

Almost finished

The scene on the st today with a huge pile of junk someone chucked out of a flat


Illustration by Jean Johnson of Alex's house, then the Gypsy King's house, from Requiem for Woolloomoolloo by George Farwell (Hodder and Stoughton,1971) a book Alex lent me




Alex's house in Woolloomooloo used to belong to the local King of the Gypsies, whose son Romeo we got to know at the Gunnery, cause among other things, he loved ringing our hidden doorbell, then racing off around the corner on his bike to do a circuit of the building and repeat

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Draw Off at the Old Fitzroy


Warren Spence

I dropped in to the Old Fitzroy Pub (@oldfitzy) to talk to Alex, one of the locals,  about a commission - a landscape of Dowling St Woolloomooloo. I was at a table out the front with Chris, Alex and Louis when Warren the adman from Melbourne walked in with his mate Rod JK. I had a little painting with me, so Warren pulled out his pad and drew me

The draw off was on - I got out mine and drew a portrait of  him
 Rod by Warren


A student from City Art(or whatever it's called nowadays) sat down and I did a portrait of him as well


His portrait  of me, mmm toothy


Warren's portrait, or caricature of me

Monday, November 14, 2016

Newtown Festival


I did a few portraits outside the Community Centre during the festival including this one of Jeff who does portraits himself. I don't often get a photo of these drawings. It would be interesting to see a bunch of them together somehow


Jeff 

Jeff's portrait of me


I also did a double portrait of Nikki and Dee, 2 girls out partying, which was a pleasure, and a girl called Roba. She had a difficult dad and her mum trying to smoothe the waters. The first two attempts were not acceptable,  dad ripped them up with a flourish - not beautiful enough - the first a too heavy line delineating her cheek , the second: "my nose doesn't look like that". I wasn't so sure about that but said I'd try one more time. She went off to make up and take her hair out of the scarf that turned out to be the problem.

We were all pretty stressed, dad was demanding his $10 back and I was telling him where to go. I drew Roba again when she came back, she was on the verge of tears but somehow we got the drawing done, luckily everyone was satisfied. The frame of hair must have done the trick, otherwise the drawings were all quite similar


The dog sculpture and some people outside the hub. 

Glue bound drawing pads suck - as soon as you remove one, other pages start falling out, as this one did in the wind. I had to get a couple of pads of better quality drawing paper for a gig that then was cancelled on me (boo hiss) and couldn't find anything with ring binding

The whole idea of a pad is that the pages stay together until you choose to remove them

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Girls and Boys Night Out


I drew a few portraits on a Friday night in Newtown and in between did a few scenes of the view and the crowd


The old ANZ bank, as a passer by reminded me


More faces and bodies

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Bad Art and new windows to open

Donald Trump's phenomenon maybe is Not so good looking and orderly but is The Only glimpse of pottential Resistance  that we ever saw in USA since JFK 's assassination 
This ugly piece of art is the result of A break down exactly as Donald is the result of the political system's break down , IF he is what he say he is 
Sometimes , the same ugly piece that blocks the light from fully entering your room Can be the one to make u focus on the little you still can see , So u might Apeciate it more and Act to let it all in 
When deprived , We appreciate more 
The Bad Art of politics , 
Chaotic , ugly and confusing as it might seem still can deliver bits of momentary Ballance 

Bullets in the Park

Apparently this sculpture by the war memorial in Hyde Park is in honour of indigenous servicepeople living and dead, and to remind of their unfair discriminatory treatment by the military and Australia generally. Sounds like a sick joke if you ask me.


So I added some  graffiti




I hate this sculpture so I really had to start a painting of it. The kids can play at  being cannonfodder in the clip beside the spent and unspent bullets

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Bougainvillea

I just started this little painting of bougainvillea on McElhone St Woolloomooloo

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Ye Naing at Rough Edges


Artist and refugee from Burma, Ye Naing at Rough Edges yesterday. You can see some of his paintings here(Rough  Art) and here (Buzzbar).

He's about to graduate from the  National Art School, and will be exhibiting in their end of year show next week