Rudy on the run: November 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

The view from Shangri-la 2010 oil on panel

Today I woke up to the drizzle of rain on my tin roof. I decided to paint the view from my front door to show where I'm staying. My room is an old horse tack room with rods coming out of the walls to hold saddles (not shown).

The rope swing 2010 oil on panel

Yesterday I got up and running at 7am, eager to find my next spot to paint. I walked down to the dam, back up the hill through the 2m thistles, and then it really started to heat up. I came back down to the studio and had a drink of water and saw what I had been looking for the whole time. Using this discarded rope swing and gum tree as a window to view the rolling landscape beyond worked well for me.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

rollin' rollin' rollin'

'The Thistle' 2010 oil on linen

Yesterday I started a medium-sized work on linen, a giant thistle in a paddock full of wheat and Patterson's curse. I liked the idea that the plant's entire structure is built to repel. The plant being coloured a lackluster, washed-out green, with sharp, nasty little barbs that tear at my jeans as I walk around the propery, made me think them quite the nuisance. As I got closer however, I noticed the lovely, bright purple sex-organ on top of the thistle and decided to make a composition. As I painted, bees and butterflies landed on top and fed, and I thought about how this plant has truly evolved to survive.

'wild foxglove' 2010 oil on panel

This morning I finished the painting of the thistle and then Koolie and I headed down to the dam for a poke around. I found this little guy standing tall under stormy skies and sat down to paint. I wasn't sure what kind of plant is was, so I showed it to Zuza and she said it reminded her of a foxglove, so 'wild foxglove' it is. I'm enjoying focussing in on the wild flora around the place, and I hope to learn a bit about the names and charachteristics of all these wonderful plants.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

back in the saddle

Yesterday I moved to Goulburn, NSW to paint my next solo exhibition scheduled for March 2011. Today was a very productive day, and I think my first paintings hint at some very interesting things to come.