Woolloomooloo - finishing the Weave Triptych

I've just finished and signed this large(3.2x1.5m) canvas of Woolloomooloo for Weave Community Hub at 49 McElhone St. We'll be having a launch party sometime soon

 

The whole painting

 

Freeway and railweay.

 

The Gunnery, the place I started out as an artist, back in 1985-91

 

Under the overpass, a homeless shelter against the rain

 

The almost finished painting after friday 3 November

 

Woolo's just one great big freeway

 

The Gunnery with John Bart's ceremonial rubbish sculptures

 

ibis

 

Cockatoo

 

Naval dock

Railway bowel

 

Cockatoo

 

The right panel

The whole thing after 2 November

 

I've been weaving the background of this largish painting (3.2x1.5m in total) over the past month or 2, and now adding a few trees and people and birds - and bringing back the pink, due to popular demand. It shouldn't take too long now, the hard part is done, and a deadline looms

Waratah wombat

 

I've been painting an Australiana scene of animals around the billabong at Newtown with Grace Woods, Xantharea O'Driscoll and the Mission community.

We've been asking everyone what animal and plant they want to see in the mural. Pastor Brian is leaving in December after 13 years feeding and providing services for the poor and homeless and sustaining the local community. He will be missed, hopefully his successor will have the same commitment and energy.

Brian requested a wombat and waratah, so here's a sketch in preparation for painting on tuesday. The wombat is at the entrance to his burrow which he will resolutely defend, One of my first books was Harry the Hairy Nosed Wombat.

 

The billabong scene so far . It's in the hall housing the Jordan Cafe, where free lunches and dinners are served, originally a Wesleyan school hall. At the other end of the room is the Newtown Last Supper, which I painted of the locals in 2013-4

St Mary's and the city

 

A view from the top of the navy carpark on Cowper Wharf Rd from a couple of weeks when I was drawing some other Woolloomooloo drawings for the Weave painting

Gum tree behind Mum's

 

I've painted and drawn this tree quite a few times, as its the most open view from the back table at the mother's house 

 

Train seats, Xanthe's hula hoops and hair on the trip to Newcastle

Old Newtown Post Office

 

I've painted this beautiful building on King St before including a similar view - its from the Martin Luther King mural square where I draw portraits sometimes. Its even in the window in the Newtown Last Supper.

I'll go back and do some more soon 

Junction St Shed

Looking west from the corner  of Junction St and St Johns Rd in Forest Lodge.

 

Marooned workshop in a carpark

 An old industrial workshop marooned in a carpark off Junction St in Forest Lodge near my new studio

Glebe Point Rd on market day

At Kuark Gap

 

Grace took me and my daughter Xantharea down to East Gippsland last weekend to stay at Kuark Gap in Kuark state forest where there was a camp to quantify the carbon density in a soon to be clearfelled coupe on a steep ridge as part of a campaign to prevent this senseless(and unprofitable) logging.

Back in the late eighties Xanth's mum Marion and I spent time protesting strip logging in the NSW south easts forests around Bombala, just across the border from East Gippsland. We took part in protests and spent some time sitting on platforms 20m up in trees. Its dumb that the same battles are still going on so vested interests can collect rent from the public.

7 years ago Grace spent a month camping and attending workshops etc at nearby Goongerah. She found their Facebook page which is how we found out about the camp. I'd like to thank her and Xanth for taking me along and putting up with me, and Owen and Grant  from GECO (and everyone else who's names I've forgotten) for getting us involved

This is Grace's tent and car where we camped. Sadly we hit a pair of kangaroos on the way back which left the car, and them in a bad way..

 

 

Looking towards the coast from our campsite - the trunk of a big gnarly eucalypt and a rough barked rinforest tree. 

Harry

 

Rachel's dog Harry