Hey it must be more than a year since my last post!

So in the last year I have finished about nine paintings; with several ongoing…

I’m becoming aware of (or imagining?) the “Schlunke Virus” ie the process whereby most of my paintings seem to take control of my brushes and tell me what to do. It feels like something is sabotaging my desire to be creative. The virus tricks me into thinking it is some kind of “inspired intuition”; but really, it’s just the same old routine; which is beginning to look to me, like dreary old cliches…

So I have to scrutinise my methods; a mental cattle prodder is required.

Diamond in Ellipse.

 The heatwaves of late may be influencing the way I am depicting sunlight. It seems to be difficult to treat it as some kind of (unquestionably) benevolent endowment from the sun that we see, for example, in Monet’s works.

This one is more like chops in an air fryer.

Which is how I have been feeling in this 40+ degree heat going on for days, weeks.

Possibly a suitable climate for self questioning:

 I’m closely, mindfully scrutinizing my Aunty Intuition.

When she suggests: “What about some dark blue-grey here?” I say:

 “Why?” and she mostly says:

“Why “Why?”?”

Or she may respond: “I dunno, maybe it worked before somewhere?”

 So I must consider overriding her suggestions: She can be capricious, mischievous, laziness-inciting…

But sometimes she may be right…

From my studio journal:

“I am looking at the photos and formulating the “Summer Mid-day Haze” of pale greys, creams buffs and blues that hangs between the trunks. It can be inserted as vague twigs, scribbles and calligraphs. The precise proportion of each tone and the character of the shapes I make are very important…

…From here on any “bold decision” that suggests “drastic revision” must be questioned.

…When editing: Abstract tonal and dynamic shapes take priority. And remember that when consolidating shapes, make them snazzy shapes for chrissake!”

If you squint at the knobbles on the Grey Box trunk you might see a stack of struggling human bodies. Not intentional. Not sub or unconscious. Sheer accident. But it suits these times; these awful world events…

Some people like to imagine artists do everything intentionally.

Bullshit! We seize upon favourable accidents and fake them to look deliberate. We are opportunistic tricksters and shysters.

Pentagain

  It may well be forty or fifty years since I did my last pentagonal painting.

This is a pentagonal go at the Cape Tribulation Fanpalms idea. It needed some elbow room.  (See post for April ’25)

“This time I will try harder to get some drama, theatrics, whooshes, edge-to-edge body language, choreography… like music. How delightful it is to pick up an old familiar tune and have another go at it. And that it can be done with design and coloured paint.”

“…I decided right from the start to limit “readable” darks to a very small proportion of surface area. Punctuation marks and no more. And they must be absolutely delightful, gorgeous, calligraphic…”

(That’s what I wrote in my studio journal)

and continues:

“The cunning overlap, overlap, overlap, that makes a certain chosen area of a painting recede, recede, recede; seems to be working its magic here.”

“Sunlit rainforest foliage needs a wide range of colour, tone, scale to look its best.”

Obviously.

“And must not be neglected. I’m designing rather acutely today to get a zig zag body movement/choreography to make it musical; but also overlapping simultaneously. Is this called “composition” or sneaky design?..

 “Getting a bit of eye-shock realism here and there this morning. Finish is still a little way off. Using “different” brushes and thick and thin paint for whatever effects may happen…”

Pine clump slanting light

This one happened in just a few sessions. A plein air job in the studio.

In a way it triggered off the following three jobs.

Then it disappeared.

Faerie Forest Spread

A longish painting looking two directions at once.  I had a lot of fun, as well as a deeper satisfaction doing this one.

Having lived here in Big Bush for over fifty years there is a nostalgic “home” feeling that manifests when I walk through certain patches; and if I manage to provoke that feeling from painting that patch, it’s very rewarding. I don’t know if this very rewarding feeling communicates to the beholder of my paintings. It would be nice if it did.

 I do care, a bit, about my beholders, but must not be like poor old Soutine who would try to buy back his painting and destroy it if he heard that somebody didn’t like it.

There is also a nostalgic buzz if (mostly by accident) a bit of what I have painted reminds me of some artist I admire; especially from way back in my student days. There seems to be a bit of Camille Pissarro here.  The ability to actually worship someone, as I did Pissarro; (and many others) now long ago in my youth (!?!)

How sweet! How precious! But still not quite irretrievably forgotten.

Central Pine Cluster

Fussing over the centre bit of the previous job. Hoping to get something “mystical” out of it. Whatever that is.

“…going for colour associations as per photos to some extent but with caricaturized exaggerations and complementary colour overkills. And looking to caricature my usual shapes and colours…”

I felt that this one was becoming a send up of my own Big Bush paintings. The Schlunke virus.

And that was somewhat enjoyable. One must not take oneself too seriously, like poor old Soutine.

Central Cluster 2

An arrangement in Big Bush greys and greens. Thinking of Whistler. The importance of abstract fuzzy shapes in greyed colours.

“…The fuzzy soft areas are finding shapes. I want them snazzy. Fastidiously composed in surprising shapes. The other areas are scribbles and calligraphs elbowing one another. As yet fine drawing of twigs and leaves avoided but suggested: “Probabilities”.

The determination to avoid the Schlunke virus persisted for a while until…

“18^th Nov.: OK so the virus got in to some extent but I had the experience of advancing the painting considerably before I “needed” to peak highlights and darks to stretch tonal range and get the “sunlit” effect: My trademark, which some might call a virus.

 Twiggy Job

oils on canvas 36” x 24”

Playing with the fine scale of twigs and bark textures on a smallish canvas. Aunty Intuition under scrutiny.

Here are some notes from my studio journal:

“…For the moment, lets say macro and micro shapes; and I’m shuffling them about in an intuitive “arrangement”. Some compositional dogma; some transferring of bits I like from the photos; and some caprice; some calligraphy beginning already. Maybe I can compose or design the macro and micro shapes to the point where openings begin to show into the, um, “inside world”? as happens sometimes.

 Make inside and outside compatible and logical ???

Get the twigs into a conversation at least; if not a dance…”

So that was my intention on the first day.

Later…

“The sticks are carrying the story and the bones are playing along nicely. And I’m getting the twig scale from 0mm to 3 or 4 mm. And foliage:  directional dots. Ghostly shapes are becoming feasible…

I worked on this job off and on while also building a studio for my darling, down at her place. Eventually I left this painting, perhaps unfinished and went back to another job.

Remember “Creekside Probabilities”

 Its a large painting I’ve been working on for years.

Probably “finished” about four times and actually posted it in my June 2024 post. With a crappy photo.

Well I worked on it more; off and on recently and herewith a photo as it is now. Not quite so crappy…

And then travelled to my son James’s place at Wallagoot. Near Tathra, south coast.

There I got drawings and photos of a completely different landscape which I am now working into paintings; and here are the first two;

Nelson pre humans

This is a place near Tathra where people love to go and do aquatic things with their kiddies and aquatic toys.

I often get nostalgic for times before humans; being a mean old Dickensian misanthrope.

So the trees on the hill are encouraged to stretch and writhe insouciantly; exploring possible and probable shapes to assume. The clouds take on forms that are nearly something else.

Creatures that may have been exterminated by the humans might be cavorting on the beach and in the water…

 All this without the scrutiny of smartarse disapproving humans.

Wallagoot Sunshower

Hey its pretty difficult to depict rain. I had to use downward lines like a comic strip or Japanese Ukiyo-e  woodcuts. And the “far side” of trees greyed and blued. This job obstinately refused to look “finished” until the last few minutes…

Thanks for looking. (And reading): I hope my journal extracts are not too esoteric.

I forgot to give media and dimensions;

Except the job I describe as smallish and the big Creekside job, all are 3′ x 4′, oils on canvas. Pentagain about 5′ high.