Delighted.

I forget what I have done over the years. from time to time I have visited my family home and found small artworks and sketches that I have done in a moment of creative inspiration. Its always a joy to uncover these old artworks. This little sketch/painting was done while visiting my daughter some years ago for Christmas. Its of Manly in Sydney, these baths were only a stones throw away from my daughter's front door. I am delighted she has it hanging pride of place in her new digs.

Bots In A Box New Build

Again this weekend I ventured out to find stuff for my bots. I have done a deal with a local thrift store who would normally throw out broken toys. I have offered to pay $5 for a bucket to be filled with broken bits of junk toys instead of them going to land fill. I'm sure that by next weekend this blog will get updated with more characters like this one.

Bots In A Box

The bots in a box series is definitely taking shape. I have run out of the shadow boxes and may have to switch to custom made boxes as the shapes of the bot images has started to vary, though I try to keep them as close to CD size as I can.

Domo Arigato Mr....

I have been enjoying going on long strolls with my wife to find.."garbage" well found objects if we want to use an artists jargon. I have taken to arranging them and other household plastic waste into personality filled robotic faces. They are a great creative vehicle for me at the moment while large studio space is not available. I have fallen in love with the process which has evolved into two types of robot. Complete heads to hang on the wall directly and bots in a box.

Birds In A Box And In The Bush

I have always loved having birds around me. I grew up with chickens and ducks. My father also used to keep birds in a huge aviary down the back of our house in N.S.W. But I never tried keeping them myself. I just never had the room. I delight in the sounds they make even the dull looking ones like crows and magpies. I started this work in honor of the magpies around Towoomba. Each evening we get the magpie telegraph sounding off as the sun goes down.

I am also experimenting with some cheap framing ideas. These box frames were a steal at a local sale. I am sealing the backs and filling them with pulp paper. Once the paper dries I will paint the surface in with my plastic gel. I started with this test piece of a correla a native parrot of Australia.

The Red Silos

I have had a small break from creating art. A couple of days ago I made a start back into it with this little colour piece. If you look in the distance you  can see two red silos making the bold statement of their presence in a man made landscape.

This painting is also using a new technique where I am cutting blocks of plastic out and laying it down directly into position onto the plastic gel I use to fill in the cardboard cut outs. 

Anzac Day Addition

I had a lovely Anzac day, Finishing artworks and starting new ones. This dimpled jug and flowers is getting some final touches and I'll soon be putting it in the pile of works for my exhibition.

I imagine the piece would look best
rough framed in recycled timber

Adding A Little Depth

Every artwork counts, so I am not going to let this one get away from me. In the past I have overworked paintings until they ended up as scrap. I was not happy with this work because I felt it was underworked. I am planning a recovery. So I have Photoshoped - or really "Gimped" the changes I am going to make and stuck it in a frame for good measure. I will start on these changes this coming weekend.

Dragon Fruit And Still Life.

I know an artist is always critical of their own work and 9 times out of 10 they are wrong. But I'm not as happy as my wife is with this piece. At least its finished and it may look better once its framed. That's always the case with my artwork. When I frame them they take on a new value. Some strange morphic process occurs and they look better than expected.

Dragon Fruit And Pears

I have just finished the layout of the cardboard dams that will hold in the plastic jell and pigment. I have a batch of plastic brewing and I hope to start the colour process on Easter morning after I've rung all the rellies and wished them a happy Easter.

Sketch For An Easter Artwork.

With a big break ahead, I'll be lolling around the apartment. So I decided to plan another artwork. I was shopping tonight and spied a dragon fruit. They are such an interesting shape and they echo shapes and textures similar to protea and their cousins the bottle brush. We'll see how this one goes, I'm starting it tomorrow.

A Wonderful Stop Motion In Paper

I love finding stuff like this. It really makes me fill with joy and inspiration. Stop motion is pain staking at the best of times. I can appreciate the hours spent illustrating this and the animation is as good as it gets.

Cream Jug With Succulents And Chilies

Another plastic painting finished. Along the way I discovered another process that I will soon be using in some smaller art works. I have also started a few more of the robot heads I'll post these soon.

Lego Art And Movies

I am really keen to see the Lego movie made by Animal Logic. I worked for them for a short stint in the 90's. I was a 2D animation director for them on a commercial or two. I also did 3D there using early versions of Softimage. Anyway I have been searching for all things Lego and art and Wow!! I found this. Some fantastic sculptures done by Nathan Sawaya...enjoy https://www.artsy.net

Several More Bot Heads

Again here is a few more little robot heads finished this week. I am looking at doing these on a regular basis. I'm also hunting down some cheap shadowboxes I want them to be a little on the shabby side even dinged a bit to complete the theme.

From The Garden #2

I have finished another garden artwork. It is in the back room drying. I thought I would see what it would look like framed and I am quite happy with the results. You might remember I was planning these images when I was in New Zealand I have plenty of ideas for these in sketch books about the house. They reflect how joyful spring can be, even when its just weeds and wild flowers that fill the garden.

Perfecting A Technique

For those of you who don't know already, I make my art from recycled plastics. My old technique was to lay the plastic straight down as I made the painting. It gets a little difficult to be accurate with the lines but the results have been interesting. My latest technique is more planned and I sketch the images out on some cheap paper. Then I build up the lines using recycled cardboard. The cardboard I use is not too thick but it is thick enough to hold the plastic pigments in. Here are a couple of examples of artworks in progress. The first is showing the way I am building the image up with the cardboard. The other shows the plastic being held back from areas it is not wanted.

Steamy001

I have just finished another of the little robot illustration/base relief/artworks. Its all ready to go into a shadow box. I think he has turned out just fine.  He reminds me of the iron giant from the animation Brad Bird directed.

The Blue Shed Inspired

As with a lot of my art I get inspired by small portions of my drawings or "experiments". I have been manipulating my last painting "The Blue Shed" and I've been inspired to produce larger pieces in the future.

The Blue Shed

Another landscape... The Blue Shed is an exercise in colour and my new plastic technique. Its not a real place but is based on many photo's I have taken in both New Zealand and Australia.

Made From Bits

These little robots are made from bits and pieces I collect when I go on weekend walks around the country town I live in. There is so much junk lying around in gardens and lane-ways. It makes you wonder how much is being washed into our waterways and out to sea. This little guy is one in the making...very steampunk I think.

Little Robots

I have been playing around with a series of  little robot head artworks. The plan is to shadow box frame these similar to the frames that Charles Kaufman uses for his crushed can artworks. http://www.crushed-can-art.com/kaufman-crushed-can-art.html

New Studio New Technique

I have started doing art again using a different technique. It's a version of my plastic process but this time I am building up the lines using recycled cardboard. This I hope will be the first of many new works.
Its called "From The Garden" and its a celebration of the diversity of colour and shapes that can be found at a park or a simple suburban garden. If you look you will see that bugs and dry leaves can have a beauty of their own.