Small annoyances

 

Recently I have spent a small fortune on brushes and paints.

And I'm finding that they are rubbish!!

Here are five issues that annoyed me today:

Above: Two small brushes: same brand, same age (new!). The brush on the left is already dog-eared after one painting!

Two medium brushes: left one is clumping, right one is behaving.

Both cleaned the same way. Both new, used for only one painting so far.

Large tube of paint, two paintings. Already cracked, causing leakage. I need to use a bandaid!

Just a personal preference: I dislike wide openings on tubes.

And finally, oil paint that had leaked its linseed oil while in transit or on the shop floor, causing the paint to become dried out and too hard to use.

Blue Creek Down Back

I'm starting a new series based on my favourite muse: the bushland behind my studio. These paintings will be looser than before, and my goal is abstraction, within the landscape genre.

I am referencing Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles with this painting. My alternative title was Black Stump. But I'll save that for another one.

In 2001 this area was burnt in a massive bush fire, and today many of the trees are still blackened. Some are dead stumps, but many have survived, and are re-growing.

This painting is about climate change: we have severe droughts and flooding rains, and fires that are so destructive that regrowth can take decades. 

Blue Creek Down Back

118 x 145cm

(47" x 57")

Room view from Canvy to give an idea of size.

Currently this painting is not framed.

My working space. A fabulous easel made by a friend's husband.

It can handle very large canvases.

Hot weather at last!

 Warm winds from the north have bought 40ºC heat to Sydney this week. So luckily I have finished my latest painting and was happy to head to the beach. It is about an hour's drive to Bronte Beach. Being a Monday we were hoping it would not be crowded but it was! Forgot the flash card for my camera, so only iPhone shots. :-(

The beach was closed due to a dangerous rip, so most of the swimmers were in the pool! This is where we like to go, as Bob is using it for exercise and safe plunging. The surf is too strong for him, even mild waves.