26 April 09
A vanload of rubbish
Started making the wall-hanging constructions out of wire, galvo and discarded things and am having a wonderful time.
Work is such fun now that the studio’s no longer a scene of endless painting and repainting, huddled over a grey canvas, though the first thing I did got redone three times and then tossed in the trailer for the dump. Today I started into the thixotropic, slow-curing epoxy, having cut up a piece of galvo for the first time in my life and blunted two drill bits drilling holes in a very rusty dropper. And added a chunk of that fake grass that’s appearing everywhere.
Ideas are absolutely everywhere. Just going across to Ken’s shed to borrow something else and there was a wonderful length of timber, eaten away to a skeleton by termites – now the base for the next thing. Went up to the edge of the barley paddock to look at some old oil drums and there were two great rusty hooks loosely tied to huge lengths of thick wire rope, so they got dragged home.
04 April 09
Roadkill found outside our house
Both the paintings got finished, framed and packed. They will be at the gallery on Tuesday.
I have been taking the Delica through the dirt roads around here, armed with bolt cutters, so there is now quite a pile of wire and galvo behind the shed. Investigated hydraulic presses for a while, to flatten screwed up things, but will have to make do with putting things between 2 sheets of something thick and strong from the salvage yard, and running the van over them.
Messed around with bits of wire and timber and thought about the next painting.
Decided not to enter the Blake Prize which is, after all, about God and I’m too much of a cynical atheist, but may try the Whyalla Prize, which is now up to $25000. We looked at the gallery whilst in the area and it’s in the middle of a TAFE complex, not a particularly good exposure. The freight would also be very nearly impossible.