Ants exchange food

One more piece for the Museum of Fleas, maybe the last one I'll start. I have to cull the collection a bit for the show.

Ants are social insects with a division of labour, various castes of workers etc performing various roles. Only some go foraging so feeding each other is a fundamental  element of what makes ants ants. As well as nutrients, the food regurgitated from the feeder's crop contains the hormones that regulate growth and behaviour. It determines what larvae develop into, and just how adults will continue growing after emerging from pupation

 

The painting so far -all blocked out, but the paints a bit thin- under an ultraviolet light

 

At the same stage under daylight

Central

Sydney Central station from Eddy Avenue

 

 The sky is full of smoke haze so I painted something like it in behind Central

 

The sky was a bit thin so when some raw umber from the tower got smeared on it I took the opportunity to have another go at it, as well as continuing to build up the the stone

 

Paint everywhere now but it looks a bit empty. i don't want to put too many vehicles that obscure the stonework, but a few people somewhere would be good, ibises and seagulls too

 

there's paint all over the canvas now! It's a great place to meet people waiting for a bus. I had a great chat today with a German traveller who's been in Australia for a year or so, whose mates are trying to find him a bride so he can stay permanently, introducing him to girls at parties

 

back to painting after the Museum of Fleas 

 

 

 blue sky and sandstone

 

After the 2nd afternoon I've drawn out about 2/3 of the image, fixed a couple of mistakes, made a couple more...

 

The first day was both painstaking and a bit frantic as I arrived later than I wanted(not for the first time) and drew it up trying to keep proportions and angles right so there's not too much to fix when  I continue. Thanks to the people who put a few $ in my collector without there being much to see

Cheesecake Flea

Eye-candy flea for the Museum of Fleas at the Imperial(24-28 September)

 

 Getting used to the spotlight and greasepaint

 

sketching out the face

The Coathanger from Milsons Point Station - Sydney Harbour Bridge

 

I went back one last time to finish this painting I started almost a year ago.

Oddly enough, I finally was challenged by a young station attendant who'd been sent down to shoo me away - you need a permit from duty manager - well send him down so I can get it - oh there's all sorts of hazards(really, I'm on a station platform at the end and out of everyone's way, and anyway not moving till I've finished. I had paints out on palette. She went off

Garth the manager came down and was worried about the pandora's box an accident would open. You can't paint that here. As I pointed out I had in fact painted that here. It's a real work of art but I'd much rather you go down to the park and paint it. It would I said, be a different painting, and I'm staying to finish the one I started, I'd only be an hour or so.

He was somewhat mollified but couldn't show it. He was going off shift, and who knows the next manager might call the police to issue me a fine. I could only imagine what a magistrate might think. Still worried, he headed off. Needless to say the police never came

You can follow the earlier evolution of this painting here

George uV Colonial Pimp Daddy

George V welcoming his children and work units into the world, and with a rose for their mothers. From a statue outside the old maternity unit at Prince Alfred hospital in Camperdown, Sydney, created by Andor Meszaros in the 1940s. He is alsoresponsible for the other sculptures there, a hyperintense action-Surgeon or Obstetrician, and a heroic striding mother with child (who George gave a rose to earlier), all in what appear to be cast concrete

 

Under UV light - the hospital lettering needs to glow!

 

Daylight

 

UV pimp daddy

 

Beginning of a painting of George V with a rose, in cast concrete outside the old maternity wing of Prince Alfred hospital, welcoming his new children and subjects into the world. (Droit de Seigneur!) There are a couple of other cement sculptures nearby, a mad surgeon in a gown, in seriously dramatic action pose, and a heroic mother striding forth with her new production

This is a daylight photo but I'm working in some UV colours to give it an eerie glow for the Museum of Fleas. This will probably be the flea with the highest rank in Debrett's peerage

Xanthe at Newtown Station

I started this painting of my daughter Xantharea playing guitar and singing at Newtown station back in autumn when the weather was still warm (here)

We went back a couple of afternoons ago. It was a bit cold to be wearing a sleeveless dress, so Xanthe put on pink and blue skirt top and leggings, and Blue makeup and did some mad doof hula-hooping to a boombox, and recruited a backup dancer from the passing crowd, who had her hoop with her(as you do)

I went over thebackground, trees and signs and the sky...

Portal: Black Cockatoo

 

 one of a group of 4 yellow tailed black cockatoos that visit my mum's place in Newcastle .

This one's eye is a door to the Museum of Fleas, the psychedelic cabaret I'm working on with Rogers & Urquhart

 

Under 395nm UV LED

 

The beginnings of the painting( its an oil on canvas about 20x15cm) 

Thanks to Xanthe for cropping, squaring and setting levels on the photo

Face / Melting Sea Ice

 

Swirls of melting sea ice in the East Siberian Sea a couple of days ago. Like Rorschach blobs the patterns the ice makes as it falls apart are very suggestive to the eye. We are in the midst of a dramatic melting season where new record low minima are likely in September on all the metrics(extent, area, VOLUME), driving continuing major changes in N Hemisphere atmospheric circulation.

You can follow the drama blow by blow on the Arctic Sea Ice Forum's Melting Season thread where I make occasional contributions

Philbert the Festival Flea

 

Mascot for the Museum of Fleas

Museum of Fleas is 5 nights of Music, Performance, Poetry and Art. 20 fantastic performers will thrill and amaze you. Itch with delight and amusement! Don't miss this must see Fringe Festival Event at Erskineville's Imperial Hotel, tuesday the 24th to saturday 28 September. I'll be recording it all in UV paint. Get your tickets now at

 - https://sydneyfringe.com/buy-tickets?e=MTg3NTI

 

I retouched our Museum of Fleas mascot and beefed up the ground to take him along to the photo shoot for the Fringe Festival launch yesterday. She didn't have a name, so Peter dubbed her Philbert. Older versions of (gender-fluid) Philbert can be found here

And if you're in Sydney keep an eye out for 30000 stickers with this image, as well as posters etc. [Edit: that didn't happen, budgetary constraints. I'm still planning a short run of stickers. But Philbert is on hundreds of UV prints to hang around the show, as well as all over the publicity material]

 

Circus Fleas mill about in Foundation Park, the Rocks as the photographers set up another shot. Pete Urquhart has the great big tree growing out of his head, like a Tree of Knowledge, with Declan and Francesca to his right. The other names are a bit fuzzy still

Later on we went to the launch and listened to speeches composed from stock phrases. F6-F1-F7-F6. Let me pause for a moment to reflect on that

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