The perils of public sculpture

And again

Some details:



I've now got to do the backgrounds and some minor fiddling with the figures. I used to worry about finish a lot more than I do now. It's like what they used to tell you in maths tests: 'Show your working.'

Where we're at

I'm thinking of calling this The Immortals:

That's the pen, pencil, watercolour, and gouache bits done. Next up's the oil.

Paintings

The new one and a couple of oldies:



Here's how the series of intertemporal avant-garde portraits (or should that be group portrait of the intertemporal avant-garde?) is looking:

You might need to click on the last one there to see it properly.

Top five times to smoke a cigarette

In no particular order:

1. Lying in bed when you've just woken up and are still in a somewhat hypnagogic state.
2. When you're in the bath.
3. When you've just smoked some marijuana.
4. When you're drinking coffee.
5. When you're drinking a beer.

Needless to say, combining any of the above is even better.

Got any better suggestions?

Painting

When I've got a new battery for the camera, I'll be able to post some pics. I've finished off some old paintings that've been hanging around for far too long. I've done a couple of new ones, one of which I'm very happy with but the other won't ever see the light of day.

The big painting I had planned has turned into a series of small paintings, portraits no less, and I've made inroads on the first of these. Come the end of the week I've three weeks of glorious freedom and hope to get a few more done during that time.

I still want to do a big painting, mainly for the opportunity for broad gestures, using the whole of my arm, but I want to make sure I've got enough to show before playing around. I have visions of blithely embarking on a big painting, sadly losing my way, and ending up with nothing.

Fight

I got into a massive argument at the pub after the Brendon Wilkinson opening on Wednesday night, one that almost ended in physical violence. It all turned to custard when I explained to these two guys why my opinions are right and true representations of the way the world actually is and why theirs are worthless, self-serving delusions. It was quite an experience, watching someone get so enraged that they lose all control just centimetres from your face.

This was in the smoking area of Mighty Mighty. It is not the first time this has happened to me. I blame the decor. Look what it does to people:

Openings, openings, openings

I decided I could do without a Shane Cotton, Tony de Lautour, and Rohan Weallens opening at Hamish McKay's on Saturday, but I did go along to the Megan Campbell opening at Mary Newton yesterday.

Tonight there's a Brendon Wilkinson show opening at Peter McLeavey's. Tomorrow night, there's one at the Film Archive, a film by Ronnie van Hout called Merry Christmas 1981:

On Friday, it's Victor Berezovsky's turn:

Go Gauguin!

An art historian has excavated the well behind Gauguin's place in Tahiti. According to the media report:

A dark brown beer bottle – embossed with a circle and The Kauri Brewery Ltd, Woodville – was exhumed during an excavation of the well behind his French Polynesian hideaway, along with four of his rotten teeth, some Tiger Balm, an empty Bovril jar and detritus of a debauched life.
...
Also found in the well were three empty jars, each of which would have held 35 litres of wine. There were also assorted bottles of rum and absinthe as well as the Tiger Balm for headaches. Also found were two vials of morphine and a syringe.
...
"The teeth are so rotten, so full of cavities, they could not have belonged to a Marquesian."

Ah email

Hello There, Good day to you.I need you to make a painting for me as a gift to be presented to my CEO for her coming birthday.The kind of painting i want for her could be a Landscape or Wild life.Any medium whether acrylic,water or oil
based painting will be okay.I am Considering a price range of between
$1,000-$1,500 as my budget for this project.Please get back to me soon on this
and if on the other hand you could come up with something different from
this,please let me know okay.Tony