Saturday 29 March 2014

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Corella Pear and Glencairn Whisky Glass

Things sometimes go a little pear-shaped after drinking whisky.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Tomato and Glass

Ooh, I think I overdid it on the cadmium red.  This tomato was well red, but not as red as this.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Monday 24 March 2014

Apple and Milk Jug

Apples and milk: a kindergarten delicacy.  At least, it was back before anyone knew they might be lactose intolerant, or indeed before some of us were intolerant of the lactose intolerant.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Sunday 23 March 2014

Carrot and Castor Oil Bottle

Carrots and castor oil: delicacies of wartime rationing.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Saturday 22 March 2014

Wednesday 19 March 2014

Banana and Teapot


A banana moments before it was eaten, and a teapot moments before it purposefully used.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tuesday 18 March 2014

Black Bottle with Yellow Roses

Ah, plastic yellow flowers in the afternoon sunlight.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Monday 17 March 2014

Macadamia Nuts and Zucchini

A jar of macadamia nuts and a zucchini (or courgette as it is known to some).  Didn't Prince sing a song about a little red courgette?

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Saturday 15 March 2014

Egg and Saucepan

An egg depicted alongside the vessel of its destruction.  A soft boiled egg is a perfect way to reward oneself following a morning painting.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"


Wednesday 12 March 2014

Tomato and Book

A tomato and a book.  Two seemingly unrelated things that I'm rather fond of.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Red Roses with Plaster Skull

Roses are red, skulls are white.  I can't come out, 'cause I'm painting tonight.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Monday 10 March 2014

Hot Afternoon, Royal Park

Gateway to ANZAC Hall in Royal Park, Melbourne.  The temperature on this day was in the high 30s (Celsius), but I managed to find a shady spot to paint.

Oil on canvas board, 7" x 5"

Saturday 8 March 2014

Torpedo Bottles

In terms of the good, the bad and the ugly, this painting falls very firmly into the latter category.  It's an example of what happens when you paint whilst you're watching telly.  I did this on a Friday night instead of going to the pub; I should have gone to the pub.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Wednesday 5 March 2014

Jar of Barley and Onion

An onion, the great kitchen staple (don't think of a giant piece of bent wire), and a jar of barley from my cousin's farm.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Apple and Brown Bottle

Fruit and bottles are a very common theme in my still lifes.  Still lives, of course, are things led by those unfortunate enough to be inactive.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"

Monday 3 March 2014

Anvil and Power Horn


This is my great-great-great-uncle William Taylor's powder horn (made from bovine horn), painted alongside a broken anvil most likely used by Victorian Aboriginal people of the Dja Dja Wurrung language group.  According to family legend, William lived in a cave in Baynton (Victoria, Australia) on what is now known as Taylor's Hill.  Apparently getting back to nature was thought to be a cure for the chronic arthritis from which he suffered.  The broken anvil was found by my father at nearby Pipers Creek; it was broken and disturbed from its resting place in the soil as a result of ploughing.

I've painted these two objects together as they represent--for me--the often violent colonial past of my ancestors, alongside the injured and yet resilient people they displaced.

Oil on canvas board, 6" x 4"

Sunday 2 March 2014

Saturday Morning, Victorian Market

Victoria Market buildings on Victoria St, Melbourne.  I started this painting in a what I thought was a secluded spot outside a closed pub; however, by the time I'd finished, the pub had opened and I was surrounded by people eating and drinking.

Oil on canvas board, 5" x 7"

Banana and Copper Pot


My daily banana with my favourite copper pot.

Oil on canvas board, 4" x 6"