Graffiti at Launceston

Sheffield

Sheffield is the town of murals. Over thirty murals tell the history of the town and the surrounding area, and it makes it feel that you are walking in a gallery when you stroll down the main street.

Sheffield also has a shop called 'The World of Marbles' it has a studio where you can watch people make marbles - sadly closed on the day I was there - and thousands of interesting marbles.

Some made by people arround the world and some made by Tasmanians.

But bring some money - I brought one for $35 and it was one of the cheapest.

However in the back room there is thousands of cheaper marbles - ones which you could play with.

Sheffield also runs a mural competion every year, entrants are displayed behind the Information Centre. These two entrants to the 2010 competition were my favorite murals, including the murals around town.

'Turangawaewae' by Mark Spijkerbosch

'The Chess Board of Life' by Fereleth Lee

The previous winner also gets to be displayed for another year...

2009 Winner - Mark Spijkerbosch 'Fire and Life'

Photo of the Day

Statue in the grounds at the Cape Otway Lighthouse.

Photo by me.

Painting the stage

A director approaches you and says, "Oi, Andrew, can you draw a mural for my play? I want a city scape, with perspective. One that someone might see if they lived in Brunswick or Fitzroy, looking over the house opposite, over a park and then the city."

And you reply, "No worries, I'll do my best." And then realise that you haven't actually drawn anything since year ten in high school and that was about ten years ago.

You start by working out a horizon, one that the audience can see and start outlining buildings and you paint in a few buildings to see what it looks like.

Lesson 1: When you paint, do all of the painting at the one time. That way you can remember how you mixed up those colours.


Realising that the city looks a bit odd with no suburbs before it, you draw in a few more smaller buildings, however as some of the painting has been done, you don't have much room.




Lesson 2: Do all of the pencil working out first.

Looking at the mural, the park looks dreadfully sparse, so you fill it up, realising that it goes on for far too long. And that it looks like the house is in Craigieburn, looking for miles over farm land to the city.

Lesson 3: Really think hard about perspective and actual distances first.

Then the director says, "How about you make it so that the city windows light up at night."
And we experiment with glow in the dark paint, which doesn't want to be worked so finely, and end up testing white envelope labels, cut down to size with fluoro blue lights.




But does it work?




Yes it does, and the director starts requesting other things, I started thinking of doing it all over again.

Lesson 4: You are the artist and can say no.

And by the end it looked okay. If I did it again I would do it differently. Really really plan everything. Pencil line everything. And paint at the end.

Art in Melbourne

10:00 Showing of 'Toy Story 3'

I had seen Toy Story 3 before but I wanted to catch it again to double check a few things. Toy Story 3 is a beautiful movie, which would easily be in my top ten movies of all time. In Toy Story 3 a mix-up occurs where the toys decide to go to Sunnyside Daycare Centre believing that Andy no longer wants them. Woody bids them adieu, stating that he belongs to Andy, and starts to head home but finds out that Sunnyside is a despotic camp and heads back to try to rescue his friends. Wonderful animation, excellent heros and villains and a great story line, that is all that is needed.

But the way Pixar pulls the story off is astronomical. Real seat gripping action, terrific humour, and a final scene that is so beautiful, and so emotional, that makes me weep just thinking about it, and boy, I was bawling during the movie. And then a beautiful closing sequence during the credits to leave everyone on a high.

I'm not quite sure why the movie had such an emotional impact on me; but perhaps it brings back the heart-wrenching scenes of giving away my own toys; or going back to a time when everything was simple.

I think interrealm from www.imdb.com has a good point saying "that we all have very real and deep connections to our childhoods and to the things and people that allowed us as kids to be free, and innocent, and pure, and most importantly, to dream."

To have 'You've got a friend in me' sang in Spanish as the credits role as Buzz and Jessie dance made a beautiful end. The song alone brings smiles but the pictures bring laughter.


13:00 'The Real Inspector Hound' by Tom Stoppard

Reading and Rereading, trying to learn lines, over Belgium waffles and coffee. Relating them to Toy Story. "If we examine this more closely, and I think close examination is the least tribute that this play deserves ... the author has given us - yes, I will go so far - he has given us the human condition".


16:00 Tim Burton Exhibition at ACMI

This exhibition was amazing. Hundreds of Tim's drawings from childhood to adulthood, drawings for fun, by doodling, for books, for movies. Some pictures seemed to me a cross between Babbette Cole's illustrations in her 'Trouble With' books and Terry Denton's cartoons. Wonderful drawings, some of them would instantly make me smile when I saw them, they conveyed such happiness. Sadly I wasn't allowed to take any photos, and the ones that made me smile are not in the Exhibition Book. Most of the exhibition wasn't in the Exhibition Book, and I would probably advise people not to buy it. But the Exhibition was great. I loved seeing models for monsters and for movies that I had seen. Movies like Betelgeuse, Ed Wood and Edward Scissor hands which I hadn't seen for decades. The exhibition was almost like a trip down memory lane.


19:00 Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

The Melbourne University students put on JC, and did a lovely performance. It was easy to understand and enjoyable to watch - what more does any one want. A nice simple set, having a female Cassius worked nicely, I found it interesting that the director had claimed that it had been modernised, but I didn't think so - I thought that it was a good classical performance.


"To infinity and beyond!" - Buzz Lightyear

White Walls

Art Galleries look so sad when they are empty.

My friend E runs an art gallery and wants to have an exhibition of different modes of performance, and she asked me to perform a small piece or two. I said yes, and promptly went to the art gallery yesterday to have a look at the space.

The previous exhibition had just been removed and the entire walls were just covered in white paint. It was so sad. I wanted to get a bucket of paint and just through it all over the room. Then I started thinking, it is not sadness, more intrepidly waiting for something to happen.

Whilst my two monologues wont colour the walls physically, hopefully they will paint pictures in the minds of the audience. And the other artists/performers will throw light, colour, bednobs and broomsticks around the gallery.

What shall we do with a drunken sailor?

I have always found art an interesting subject.

I have these oil pastel drawings and some copies of them lying around. I don't know what to do with them. Are they good enough to give to other people?

The Hut of Baba Yaga (4)

Baba Yaga is the traditional witch of Russian Folk lore. She lives in a hut which walks around on large chicken legs.

The Hut of Baba Yaga (5)