Rudy on the run

Monday, December 6, 2010

the quick and the dead 2010 oil on panel

Today I woke up to the first sunshine in weeks! I quickly headed off at 8am towards some hay bails I have been checking out, but the composition wasn't right so I went back to the graveyard. I had noticed this scene on a previous visit and jumped right to it. Each step of the painting came together with ease and when I finished I vowed to come back and paint a bigger one.

lipstick plant 2010 oil on panel

I'm not sure what kind of plant this is, so I'm calling it 'lipstick plant' as it reminds me of a plant my father had when I was young. They look nothing alike, but it was the first thing to pop into my head. I'm hoping someone will tell me what the name of this beautiful flower is...

Sunday, December 5, 2010

angel in the graveyard 2010 oil on panel

Today I went back to the old graveyard north of Goulburn and painted this view of a stone angel and headstone. They were both contained within a twisted rusty fence and the orange wildflowers popping up added the colour and dynamism that I needed against such a steely sky.

first plum 2010 oil on panel

It has been raining day after day, so I planted myself beneath this plum tree and painted this composition. Most of the plums have split open from all of the rain, such a shame...

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Roos in the graveyard 2010 oil on panel

I had passed this old cemetary on the outskirts of Goulburn last week, and came back today to paint it. As I was walking around reading the tombstones, I got rather near a pack of kangaroos that were hanging about. We both had a start and then they backed off a bit, but not too far. I grabbed my gear and sat on the grass to capture this scene. Can you spot the roo? I'll be back to do a larger one on a similar theme.

Cherry interior 2010 oil on linen

Today I woke up to non-stop rain, so I headed in to the manor house to do some inside work. This is the library and the reflection of a print by Cherry Hood on the table caught my attention. As I was painting the light coming through the curtains, I realized they are portraits of David Gulpilil by Martin Sharp. I was glad to be able to appropriate these well-known pieces of Australian art in my own little painting. If you look close, you'll notice there's an extra chair leg in there, I wasn't about to sacrifice rhythm for realism...

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.