Pia and the city for sore eyes

Pia, of the wonderful weblog Pia Jane Bijkerk fame, caught my attention tonight. I just happened to look in on her charming blog  and ...where had she been posting from? Not Paris or London or somewhere in proximity to her home in (currently) Amsterdam - she had been in my neck of the woods with her camera and taking some really fascinating photographs.

I am going to share a couple but suggest you visit Pia's blog to see the whole series - they're good! Her images are special indeed.

visit here for more from Pia on Brisbane.

Now you must go on her walk in the rainforest here... it'll make you sigh deeply and breathe out!

I told you it was worth it!  Pia's blog is full of treasures - with many links off in different directions. It has a peaceful quality which makes for pleasant reading and it was certainly a treat to see this familiar city through different eyes!

What is this?

well... if you dont know the significance of this tree above read my latest post at Homage to the Seed!
Below: from theselby.com - also featured at this homage post!

on a completely different tangent

This morning I noticed in my sidebar blog-list a new entry from David Byrne's Journal. Even though in a hurry to go out I had to stop and read this post titled DREAM - THE ART TRAP . 

You will have to read the post to see what this image below left has to do with the story. I was a great fan of Talking Heads and Byrne's work. In 1986 whilst living in London I saw his film "True Stories' which I thought was ingenious. Coming from where I had been living in south east country Australia before moving to London there were things that resonated strongly in parts of the film. It certainly stayed with me and I bought a copy of the script in book form later on in Jerusalem of all places.

What happens after attending a VIP opening! It reminded me of the recent discussion on art museums of New York....with a uniquely quirky angle - Byrne's signature style! Have a look if you're the curious type!
      
        

when the occasion calls for it

Milestones are important - and 5 decades is well worth celebrating! Janna, my one and only sister, lives 2 hours north and will be marking this milestone with a wonderful gathering very soon. What is a birthday without a cake and reaching 50 requires something perhaps a little elegant, certainly not ordinary. Some of these finds below I think would be easier to paint than make....so the gesture on my part at this stage is more fantasy than fact.  I have been known to employ artistic skills in the kitchen - at times to good effect.... other times...dont ask!

So what inspiration did I find this afternoon?

This good old aussie standard below - the ubiquitous 'lamington' is something I might have created 40 years ago

When going 'all out' one would have added the cream layer - very sophisticated!

I never did get round to making the infamous 'pavlova' which provokes a debate between Oz and NZ as to where it originated.

I've looked beyond the good old standards - with my sister in mind. Of course I shall have to see which of these the birthday girl herself fancies - (please let it be the chocolate and pistachio...I could manage that!) I recall she loved cheesecake a long time ago. She was smart and married a very good cook. She's smart in many ways actually! 

Below is a bouquet - edible of course - from an legendary Sydney Cake shop SWEET ART that specialises in exotica. This is rather a quiet offering - I well remember walking past their Paddington shopfront years ago and seeing some remarkable constructions -  perfect for a locale full of galleries and a plethora of culturally diverse venues!

 

The blood orange cheesecake actually looks sensational thanks to Martha - that colour!

Another Martha number - 'darkest chocolate layer cake' that LOOKS pretty memorable!

Nigellas Lemon Meringue cake is looking good...lemon is one of those brilliant flavours - this looks like a grown up's pavlova really.

From Gourmet traveller, an excellent foodie magazine from Australia comes this Cassata below.

The afore mentioned Chocolate Pistachio cake from Martha

 

The finale - Martha's Carrot and Ginger cake is rather an elegant statement! Baking is definitely a skilled pursuit... especially when venturing out on a limb to create something magical! I think 5-0 calls for some magic!

H a p p y   5 0 t h    B i r t h d a y   J a n n a  x o

the big wet

These images of country areas of south west Queensland are not exactly down the road but we are getting some of the rain here in Brisbane that has completely swamped places like Roma and Birdsville. They've been inundated with many scrambling to safety, some with little warning. 
I'm reminded of growing up on the Clarence River in northern New South Wales where the river would invariably break its banks from time to time. We would get to that point where we would look at each other knowingly and say "flood rain". There's rain and there's flood rain.
For me at the moment there's rain and there's the studio. Its cooler than recent times... sleeping is good with the sound of falling rain and there's no flooding downstairs (we had a little fiasco last year!)...so all is well!

if I was in Sydney this weekend...

I'd have to stop at the fabulous Bourke St Bakery on route to Paddington.

Once in Paddington there would be endless galleries and favourite book shops to wander into.... Berkelouw, Ariel, Gertrude and Alice... its been a while...hope they are all still there...! The Paddington markets are always fun, and the galleries... where to start.

This weekend though if I was in Sydney I would definitely be going to see my blogging friend Undercover Painter at the Harris Courtin Gallery. Inga's work I have posted on before as I am am a fan of her painterly gems and would line up to buy one in a flash. 

Tandem  Oil on canvas   12.5 x 17.5 cm

See more work at Inga Dalrymple and if you are going to be in Sydney this weekend....expecially over Paddington way...please drop in on my behalf and say hello to Inga if she happens to be there!

message to curators

A February 14th article in the New York Times Post Minimal to the Max by Roberta Smith came to my attention through two posts by painter Deborah Barlow at Slow Muse. Its a strong article which painters may well be drawn to read at length...and certainly a visit to the two Slow Muse posts takes the discussion further. Deborah reports in the 2nd one on the intense discussion and blog activity this article generated among artists and others.

Smith concludes her provocative and what I feel is timely article with a plea to curators: Whatever your'e doing right now, do something else next. She argues painting has been largely ignored in the Art Museums of New York, unless its that of a older master such as Kandinsky.

The paragraph "what's missing is art that seems made by one person out of intense personal necessity, often by hand. A lot but not all of this kind of work is painting, which seems to be becoming the art medium which dares not speak its name where art museums are concerned."

Worth reading Slow Muse here  firstly and here if your interest is sparked.

Terry Winters Knotted Graphs 6 2008 Oil on linen 77 x 98 inches.

Terry Winters Double Gravity, 1984, Oil on linen 

Terry Winters is one of the artists Smiths names as deserving of a major museum show and still overlooked. Phillip Taaffe is another artist I particulary like who she names on her 'list'. 

Philip Taaffe's New York studio photographed in 1993

Philip Taaffe,  Radient Study (1988,89) Encaustic, relief print, silkscreen on linen