Comment spam

I've disabled anonymous comments because of the amount of comment spam I've been getting. I hate anonymous comments anyway. As a general principle, I reckon that if you don't have enough courage in your convictions to put your name to your opinion then that opinion's pretty worthless.

In other news, I've surprised myself by really enjoying my new job. I'm also really getting into the old oil painting. I think the trick is not caring about having a finished art work at the end of it but just playing around for playing around's sake. Ironically, I've flicked out the pingers for some flash materials for it.

I've been a bit down recently, and am feeling a whole lot better now. There's one thing still on my mind that's somewhat distracting, but I'm trying not to worry about that now and will deal with it in a wee while. I need to concentrate on work (in both senses of the word) at the moment.

Leonardo

The Guardian has a thing on the underdrawing of Leonardo's unfinished Adoration. Ignore the stupid bollocks about that stupid book. If you took that at face value you'd end up with a very weird stunted and misshapen view. It's important to put it into an actual historical context and make associations from that, not from a made up one.

Three days in

I've started the new job. The first couple of days were pretty full on, getting my head round a new place and new culture, but today was easier. I'm still not sure how I'll go. I think it'll be pretty sweet though - formal language and the past unreal.

I started painting in oils again for the first time in years again on Saturday. I'm just playing around, getting the Skeleton Guy out of the studio and into the landscape. It's been really good, except my garage cum studio is not exactly well ventilated and I've ended up making myself quite sick. I'm about to head up there for some more now.

Full on

Back from our crazy driving up and down the South Island trip. Too much driving in too little time. I'm only beginning to recover now, and I was a passenger. I may blither on about it when I'm more compos mentis, but for now I've added a completely unrelated new link to the right there to check out. If you're really keen you could always have a gander at the Christchurch art scene - of which we had a bizarre experience at the dinner after Matt's opening. And of course a selection of touristy photos is a must.

The Kaikoura coast (including seals):






Looking towards Portobello on the Otago Peninsula from above Port Chalmers:



And towards the heads, plus a couple of things from Oamaru and Portobello:

Two more days

I should've been up in the studio slapping the gesso on, but I haven't been. Tonight I've just been watching stupid crap on the telly. Last night I watched Cul-de-sac - the last of three Roman Polanski films we got out over the weekend. They make a pretty bloody good trilogy actually.

For some reason I haven't been reading much for yonks now, which is very uncharacteristic. I usually have two or three books on the go at any time, but not at the moment. I blame the old job.

The old job should've been a really good one, but for various reasons I really can't be bothered going into wasn't. I'm really not looking forward to the new one. Pretty much the only reason I took it is because I need one.

Painting

I'm going to go through the pile of canvases leaning against the wall over there and paint over all the crap ones with burnt sienna before gessoing 'em up and starting over again.

I've got another week of the old job to get through, then we're off down south for five days, then I start the new job the week after that. It'd be good to come back from Chch and Dunners with a whole lot of stuff ready to go.