Back to work...

I was in Bali this last week.  It was fun, laid back and very green.  I had a brilliant time with my gorgeous family and I have to admit that I may have overindulged with food and drink (can only recommend the Champagne Mojito - by far the stand out cocktail!). 

However, by the end of the week my mind started to turn back towards home and work (as it does) and I started to make mental lists of what jobs I have to do (as I always do) and what deadlines are coming up (aren't there always).

The big difference was how ridiculously excited I was by all this.  I couldn't wait to get home and now that I am I've been running around like a mad fool getting back into work.  Rather than some high pressure, underpaid, repetitive (read boring in there!) admin job I am drawing, carving, printing and painting.  My work rocks!

While I was away I had an article in The Pilbara Echo and I've popped a copy below.  Hope you enjoy!

The Pilbara Echo, 9 July 2011

Heading Down the Highway…

Looking for adventure and whatever came our way.  We were three intrepid artists bearing six gorgeous artworks created by Hedland artists to Cossack on Sunday 26 May. 

Our mission was to safely deliver these artworks for submission to the Cossack Art Awards.  Now I have been on my share of road trips in my day but I’ve never done it with artists and let me tell you it is a whole new experience.  Rather than whining kids asking are we there yet (actually to tell the truth that is usually me) there was much more artsy stuff going on. 

There were conversations about artistic style, merit, pricing of artworks, what sort of paint to use and how and when.  Technicalities were discussed in detail and then in even further detail still.

There was lots of looking at landscapes, noticing colours, shapes, light play etc and wondering how anybody could not be fascinated by the Pilbara landscape. 

We also had some deep and meaningfuls about the West End Markets that we had all worked the night before and how sometimes your creations just sell, sometimes they just don’t and how good it is to keep perspective and confidence in what you are doing. 

When we got to Cossack we handed the artworks over, ensured they were labelled up correctly and stopped for a spot of lunch.  Here again the conversation turned to landscapes and colours but also just the general feel of Cossack – the peace and stillness of it that wasn’t even marred by 4WD’s and boat trailers zooming about. 

After lunch we did a tour around Cossack and all agreed that it was such a gorgeous place that we needed to spend more time in and pretty soon, you guessed it, there was more talk of what could be drawn or painted.  After deciding that we had to do some sort of artists’ camp in Cossack soon it was time to head home.

On the way home there were a few more stretches of quiet - we had worn ourselves out with too much talking.  I reflected on how important hanging out with other artists can be.  So much of art happens in your head and in a lot of cases artistic production happens on a solo basis too.  But just like any other profession – a bit of chatting, a bit of networking and even a bit of reassurance goes a long, long way. 

The Cossack Art Awards is on from 17 July to 7 August at Cossack’s Bond Store and Post and Telegraph Building. 



Leny, Nomes and Amanda heading to Cossack...




Nomes is handy with a camera as well as a paint brush!