Mutt

I'm in a group show called Mutt opening at The Food Court (427 Docklands Drive, Docklands) this Thursday night from 6pm. The show runs from 1st October - 20th October. 

I'll be showing a large new drawing which I am quite excited about. I've been thinking a lot about the process of drawing lately, and that is what this show is about; the risks, decisions and mistakes we make in the process of creating...

Thi...

I can see clearly now

You can run free inside a box...

I feel like I am on a continual quest for the 'right' studio and I'm always coming up with different theories of what works. 

Today's theory: I work alone but I benefit from having at least one other like-minded person around, also working; someone who I can riff ideas with or get them to take photos for me (and vice versa). It can take a while for me to focus, but once I am honed in on something I like my silence and space to create my own little world within the studio. It's important for me to feel a little tucked away with my materials around me and books, suitcases and passing objects scattered around my peripheral. 

I felt hemmed in earlier today but I've moved some boards and set up a few metres squared where I can bounce back and forth. It's working...for now. I find that the working space I require is constantly shifting. I like to come to somewhere familiar but I also have a need to travel and refresh my mind.

How do your surroundings influence what you do? Does the space dictate the work?

I want to go inside and read now. I couldn't possibly open a book out here...

What is...

...the difference between handwritten and typed?
What is the difference between hand drawn and computer generated?

I misplaced my journal

And found I've never empathized with a character more...

I only dream of you when you're next to me

Kinda.

Back to the drawing board

I should clean my windows

Not clear.

Define enigma.

From the bridge

 

I never got a photo of me standing up on the deck of King's Bridge Cottage. I watched so many people driving, cycling, walking over the bridge but I don't know what it was like to look up and observe someone in the cottage. Although it is in such a prominent position, I always felt tucked away when I was up there. I didn't feel like anyone could see me, except for the occasional little cruise ship passing by. It was nice to feel so close to people and the city yet positioned in this amazing natural landscape. Summer afternoons of swimming, textas and Cascade Pale Ale...

Gaze

I awoke this morning to see Jerry sitting on my desk looking out the window, his backside sticking out underneath the yellowed floral curtains. His tail curled around like a monkey as he watched birds flying into the yard and people walking, riding and driving past (he probably sees a lot more than I imagine). I watched him as he sat on the desk looking out the window (obviously no one else had got up yet or he would have meowed at them to let him out so he could roam over to the neighbours' or lounge in the grass). After a prolonged period of looking out the window he ducked back under the curtain into the room and began to look around and ponder his next move. He quietly and carefully maneuvered around the books on the desk and I could see his mind tick over with what he should do to pass the time until someone got up to let him out. I kept staring at him as he sniffed a candle positioned towards me on the corner of the desk and then he looked down and gave his belly a lick. He looked up and around the room and then turned back around and met my gaze. He looked startled for a moment and meowed at me. I was pleased with myself and laughed that I had been able to fool him into thinking I had been asleep for a few more minutes than I really was. I liked watching his thought process and actions as he was unaware of my conscious presence.

It made me think how special it is to observe someone close to you without them knowing.

Or to quietly view someone in public.

I've always struggled to say hello to people I recognise in public. It's a shyness I have always had where I get startled or feel like it isn't the right time to approach someone. It frustrates me and I hope to grow out of it one day. On the positive, I sometimes enjoy those moments where I recognise someone in a public space without them seeing me. I like to watch the way someone boards a tram or walks down the street. I quite often see people who look like people I know and I feel compelled to (subtly) glance at them at every opportunity I get so that I can figure out if it is the person I know or not. Once I have determined that it isn't the person, something makes me keep watching them. I suppose I have begun to enjoy the way they move within the world.

In the background.

Brush your teeth

Spring

Found an old packet of seeds from last year...

How to be invisible

That's enough

Paradise