Inspirations - Jessie Trail

Jessie Traill capturing the same sentries, years ago.  I am inspired to capture the background, the light through the distant trees, with the simplicity achieved here.  The interstices in the  leafy screen.

Good night in the valley where the white gums grow
1922

Jessie Traill
49.7 x 46.5 cm
Link to the NGA

100 things

In the spirit of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, I sat down today to refocus and think about the things I love.  It's a getting-in-touch exercise that i've done many times over the past 20 years.  It is interesting to see what changes and what stays the same.  I notice, more verbs.  Fewer nouns.

1. Being alone
2. Being alone at Barney View
3. Painting
4. New canvases
5. New boards
6. Taking off
7. Having no plans
8. Options
9. Anna
10. Andi
11. Ian
12. Ally
13. Playing with an art diary
14. Imagining people will see my art and be uplifted
15. Dreaming of paintings
16.  Dreaming of art projects
17. Helping people
18. Helping people to progress their own dreams and goals
19. Morandi
20. Morandi's still lifes
21. Painting bottles
22. Trees
23. Sally
24. Dreaming with Sally
25. Dreaming about teaching
26.  Thinking and talking about teaching projects
27. Walking around urban landscapes
28. Taking photos
29. Noticing
30. Photographing walls
31. Photographing grates
32. Oranges
33.  Orange blossom
34.  The thick scent of orange blossom in Sicily in spring
35.  Favingana
36.  Swimming off the rocks in Favingana
37.  Elliot Heads
38.  Jane
39.  Swimming
40.  Langlands Park pool
41.  Swimming along in Langlands Park Pool, watching the clouds.
42.  Coffee
43.  Strong smooth coffee, with milk (first of the day)
44.  Sunrise
45.  Early morning
46.  Early morning with coffee and art diary
47.  Dreaming
48.  Ian's arms
49.  Reading with Ian
50.  Cream buns
51.  Isle of Man
52.  Walking around the Isle of Man
53.  Fleshwick Bay
54.  Peel Harbour
55.  Ellerslie Farm
56.  The Dillons
57.  The Dillon's
58.  Dr Tim
59.  Contemporary art galleries
60.  Abstraction in art
61.  GOMA
62.  QAG
63.  Beaches
64.  Jane Austen
65.  Dickens
66.  The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon
67.  Seoul
68.  Insadong
69.  Paul and Paulina's, Seoul
70.  Sundubu Chigae
71.  Jinju
72.  Paris
73.  Thursday nights in Paris
74.  Gallery crawls on Thursday nights in Paris
75.  Art supplies
76.  Old art supply shops
77.  Leather
78.  Hand made leather visual diaries
79.  Fine art paper
80.  The fireplace at Barney View
81.  When Graeme comes to dinner at Barney View
82.  Istanbul
83.  Open minds
84.  Intellectual rigour
85.  The English spelling of rigour, colour and the like.
86.  Museum of Art and Design, Columbus Circle, New York
87.  Big Al's studio
88.  Staying the night at Big Al's
89.  Spotted gums
90.  Stands of trees
91.  Ho Chi Minh City
92.  Wide leg pants
93.  Water
94.  Autumn
95.  Moreton Island
96.  Snorkelling
97.  The Tea Shop, Jinju
98.  Ferries on the Bosphorus, Istanbul
99.  Northern New South Wales
100.  Bird song in the morning.

Tree change

The bush changes colour in the rain.  I arrived one night in misty rain and drove into a forest of fluorescent trees.  I wondered if I was imagining it.  In the dry the spotted gums are pink and grey and blue.  With a little moisture they turn bright green.  So very beautiful.

Today I caught them undecided.  The rain was light and misty and blowing in from one direction.  On one side the gums were dry and pink and the other ...

Unknown unknowns

I was reading this week about the joy of the unknown unknowns.  The books you find in a bookshop that you never knew you'd love.  The visual jewels you chance upon, when you take the time to notice.

The first time I drove to Barney View.

Inspiring travels

I've been away for a few weeks in Sicily and on the Isle of Man.  Both islands weave their magic.  I travel the world and see footpaths. They inspire me with their crumbling surfaces, the cracks and crevices.  The interstices.  The spaces in between telling the story again.