Plein Dunedin

New Show - Saturday 7th (Opening Noon)– Friday 27th March 2020

Moray Gallery Dunedin, 55 Princes Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand, P: +64 3 477 8060

Take a step outside, nowhere to hide. Unsure what to expect, and there its value is met.

Theres a secret spot through paddock and tree, and the ocean awaits glistening through a frame with which to see. 

No one to show you the way, only those long last instincts to keep you going astray

With paintbrush in hand, scan over the land, use your feet one by one, to catch some light cast by the sun.  

Theres some spots in mind, and today the suns out and being kind, see there over yonder, let’s put some Hendrix on to make us feel stronger.

Knowledge of the powerful surf and adventure is there, accompanied by a moment by the sea in Dunedin, a moment in eternity.

Then there’s ornamental streets where tidy driveways meet. Castles lay their roots, and greenery plants its shoots. The greenbelt casts its cover as the locals mother, they wander into town, meaning squanders away a frown.

Pass over the cyan blue, or magenta, in fact any hue. In the moment it won’t matter, gone will be any chatter. In Dunedin where the outside lies, and where I play I spies.

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A VERY small PLANE adventure

Co-Pilot nods in an understanding. I can’t hear him with the noise of the engine, but I can see him, his body language, he is bored watching the national parks from thousands of feet above, ticking off another flight mile, and thinking about another aspect of his life, like how his cornflakes tasted this morning, where he wants to travel, a girl he likes or how he feels about living in Darwin. Viewing the pilots is a privilege to the flight, gauges go flick, a pilot taps a familiar spot on the dash where the paint has now been removed to the metal due to the repetitious motions of the same tap tap. Us four passengers cruise intimately, in-flight entertainment decades away.

Perth to Melbourne via a Campervan over a Week

Whizzing by another west Australian fly, a Campervan headed from Perth to Melbourne is our home over the next week. wife, dog and I are our entourage catapulting ourselves into an Australian adventure based on a move to the east coast and a thought of why not. 
Esperance takes over as the first stop; blue aquamarine and white hues melt magically into the ocean making us feel like we are part of a small tribe who have discovered paradise. Sand squeaks underneath feet as we wade into the crisp clear water drawn like moths to light, dive in and surface content.
Carrying on the road and landscape begins to blend into a story line of changing pastures and vegetation every few hundred clicks, like an unfolding lord of the rings timeline excluding Mordor. Endless plains stretch out changing mindsets of pre- conceived distance, like a frog who has forever lived in a stream,  discovering the ocean.

Large gulps of expanse, scream silent echoes like a involuntary gaping yawn. We are engulfed being forced upon a rare moonscape and the experience is impossible to ignore. Bushes and scrubs appear like barbed wire fences waiting to trap a perpetrator harsh and unforgiving however not without charm and uniqueness. The earth demands life as the plants and trees solidify roots within dry soil.

More and more Km’s tick by and we begin to assume driving positions swapping between copilot and the navigation chores which come with it. We transform into an identity, with habits emerging such as a designated uniform consisting of the bare minimum such as shorts, t shirt and bare feet. Packed supplies and clean clothes are accessible but for some reason become unnecessary. Strange singing patterns begin, and competitive car cricket where red cars seen every 100km earn six runs. Every passing car give the secret finger wave as we pass, a gesture which evaporates within larger cities
Km’s are eaten as we emerge as motorized butterflies from former grubs crawling, we are now competent in our approach to fly the Australian plains and over the 90 mile stretch of the nullabor . Hail, lighting, thunder, sandstorms, wind gusts heaving at us, and sun are all experienced in only a few days. Weather over the first few days is a blessing by limiting roo numbers on the road. Roos, parrots, foxes, crows, snakes, rabbits, livestock are all seen among iconic road signage depicting potential wildlife sightings. Late one night a large roo dominates the road we slow but are unable to slow enough, and pass by the animal who luckily stays perfectly still on the other side of the road watching us curiously as welcome intruders and becoming a guardian of the land accepting our presence as we pass each other unharmed.
We begin to embrace the moment and with it deep low gut wrenching laughter takes a hold during various over tired and hilarious intervals where we look over one another and the situations we are in. Busy is better than idle, as we soak in the new experiences.


The continuation of the engine turning through the land begins to feel like a wave we are riding onwards, gaining momentum as we stop into cactus visiting two dessert snakes slithering on the sand dunes by the breaking waves. Banksy the dog is covered by his protective mother, a city dog dreaming of a past nostalgic memory of ancestors living wild.
Magic surf spots appear through rugged rock reef breaks. Surfers camp living a true Australian adventure where they are shaped by the undeniable influence of experiencing nature and being in the sea in an intimate and majestic setting. Hair is styled by dust and salt, and fashion becomes a latter priority.


Sliding through towns which appear in spaces seem fascinating, small populations with company in a selected few to pass the time. A caravan park owner runs us through the property with warm welcoming. We pack up and settle in ready for an early start with an unknown next stop and only a final destination in mind.
South Australia beckons with a small coastal town of robe. A restuarant with old and new friends is filled as we move from the campervan and into the un-hostile environment. We are greeted by a friend the following morning with a coffee in hand as we take to the coastal dunes checking the ocean for waves to surf. Plunging in shortly after, sleep is washed away with fresh salt water and the adrenaline of some steep drops down wave faces. 
We make our final days travel to Torquay and onto Melbourne visiting friends and loved ones, letting the previous days experiences sink in from what was a step away from an everyday week. 
Thank you adventure and the inspiration with brings with it a reminder of self along the way

Current music influence

I am loving this album and band, with songs not seeming to tire. A mellow infusion of easy listening modern music, with a blend of electronic instrumentals and paced harmonious vocals and a little rap, music takes the listener on a clever journey with the subtle changing music patterning in each song. It's easy to miss the thought provoking lyrics which vary between light hearted humour and relevant comments on modern society. The album flows, with a great mix of strong songs. It is hard to categorise this music with what seems to be influences from r and b, jazz and frank Zappa, as well as modern influences and progression.  

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Plein Air Prep

I like to prepare the background colours on board/canvas prior to Plein air painting. The small dots create atmosphere and peak through blank areas like wee galaxies 

It seems to compliment brush work pulling between the two colour applications, plus seeing the splash colours gets me invigorated ! 

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Freo Hub

Found a wee creative hub to get the creative juices flowing from thoughts  into ink on paper. I find if I'm stuck, often getting into a public space with good food, drinks and ambience does the trick. Also this particular area - the Moore gallery is where I'm having a show of my work in November. More details to come  up 

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Pilbara Drifting - View from the plateau

On the plateau we scan horizons for forgotten land.

Seas rolling and lapping into one another of bush and red rock issuing pink tones of Pilbara marsh.

Mining operations loom in the foreground; a contract organising, gouging, scoring with buckets formulating like machine insects eating away wood. In the distance the land drifts into the smiling clouds promising an organic ever essence at the ironicalness of it all 

Beach breath

 

Little waves slap the beach as the silence in-between is filled by indescrepencies of the open space. Wind breathes and sand makes freckle sounds

People pass through the scene defining space as they move into the distance. Beach goers people watch like a more natural reality TV show . 

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Western Australia Fly's !!! Buzzzzzzz

Fly's do whatever they want no matter how much you stomp, wimper or wyne, a fly can mess up your entire regime.

So get over them quick smart, before you swipe at them, they'll be sure to dart.

Or if you strike a pose, they'll right unsettle you and land on your nose.

Fly's don't care they do as they please.

You may as well put yourself at ease......... 

A Tuesday Night Storm

A storms putters its way from a secret place down low. Rain grows dark a mile off, like icing sugar through a sift, only stained blue-grey.  

Blue sky buffers off into the distance awaiting patiently while electric blue lightening forks silently flick tounges at the deserving iron ore ground far below. 

On the wind comes blowing page into hand. Whistling wood and willow. I take it in, the deep murmuring of something ancient, awakening the forgotten. Tunes of the deep. It must happen for its in the earths blood, a mad but wonderful cycle which our early ancestral selves understand at a whisper from within early past. 

it comes, it bellows.  

I take shelter  

shelter from the storm, because it's what we've always done 

its respect, and awe,  nature has no flaw 

Marlene Dumas

Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave, on view at MoMA

 Marlene Dumas - Quotes I liked of her's from the above interview - 

"How the figure relates to the canvas"

"Sometimes the figure struggles to stay inside the canvas, sometimes it struggles to stay outside the canvas".

(Im currently focusing on trying to make the most of having the opportunity we have with a space to utilise, and how to use it the best we can, to try not to overuse it, or underuse it)

"My best paintings are like drawings and my best drawings are like paintings"

"I like when works are fast, the speed of a work is quite important, you make your decisions, and it's over and it's done".

(I agree often the paintings which come together quickly, and flow mean that they have the magic needed,... have that something special. Its off the point when someone asks how long does a painting take you ? because i think thats irrelevant as your best painting may take a hour to complete and your worst 2 years.....)

"Maybe someone is doing the same painting over and over again just in different disguises".

(I think this is clever - ask yourself are we constantly challenging ourselves as artists? are we having fun and are we fresh in our creations)

"Sometimes things just come together, and sometimes you just get stuck in your own vanity and stupidity".

(Hilarious ! so true! ) 

I love how she uses her mediums and the space of the her works. She seems to have a talent for being honest with herself and the painting process and what the painting is giving. She lets the painting live the life it wants to and doesn't force a preconceived idea of what the painting was intended to be.

She seems to know when to stop, and also how less can be more, and space can be more powerful left alone. These are things Im trying to focus in within my practice.

Lastly: " One thing people tell you is it's important to clean your brush, well I don't "

(Thanks for Marlene! now I don't feel alone)

Here's the link to this interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oJGwiEoj84