HOLIDAYS

I have just returned from 6 days holidaying with my family in Noosa. For those of you who live overseas and have not heard of Noosa...well...it is wonderful. The beach is perfect, the views are amazing, the main street ie: Hastings St is full of life and shopping opportunities [although not as good as it used to be because some chain type shops have crept in]. And, the restaurants are great, particularly the ones on the beach front. Breakfast at one of these is a special treat. No need to dress up [unless you want to].

Whilst I was on my holiday I spent some time painting small works on paper. Three of these little paintings are above. The top two are 21 x 14.8 cm and the bottom one is 14.8 x 21 cm. I have not given titles to any of them yet, but my thoughts were obviously focused on my tree-of-life. I was interested in playing around with capturing the spaces between, creating layers and exposing patterns. I like to play with lines and colour, and within these I like to explore variations in tone, toying with my paint brush as it deposits paint on the paper. It is really quite meditative watching paint being absorbed by the paper and knowing you can manipulate it, but only within certain limits. It becomes a game.

People often ask me if I get inspiration from places I visit whether they be in Australia or overseas. Well, I have to say that when I have tried to create work based on my tourist or fleeting experience I am severely disappointed. That kind of superficial visual reporting does not interest me. What does inspire me are conversations with people which may reveal some sort of commonality, which then has the effect of drawing out and extending my thoughts tangentially but not disjointedly. I am like a bower bird, in the sense that I gather and collect ideas which spark off the ideas, memories and feelings I have already collected, thought about and reflected upon. In some ways I 'see' this process like a tree growing new branches. There is a 'system', but one which may only be discernible from the future rather than one which is predetermined.

My holiday provided me with an opportunity to play with paint and ideas. Because, I could not set up a proper studio space, I only took 4 paint brushes, two watercolour pads and 4 tubes of gouache paint. Some might think this was quite restrictive, but for me it was an opportunity to explore and extend within pretty tight limits. Funnily enough the choices seemed endless. I loved it!