fire hydrant - 100 drawings in 100 days

ok, i am behind a couple of days, but that's only because i've been busy taking some paintings to and attending a charity auction.

so, i'm pleased to say that the two small oil paintings i donated to the Daffodil Day, Hazell's Lunch for Cancer Research, sold!! yay! i love it when i can give something to charity and the woman who bought them was so thrilled!! i did get to meet her, and after a nice chat, i discovered that this was her first "grown-up art" purchase! how cool is that?

the event was held in the ever-popular power house in new farm park, brisbane. this is the most amazing building, as it's old, and used to be (apparently) the place to go shoot up heroin, back in the days when it was an old heap of rubble. now it's home to many a fine art event, 2 restaurants, and it's just gorgeous with it's interior still showing signs of the grafitti here and there.

this is the fire hydrant in one of the entrances, and really caught my eye - ever since i made giant wood-block prints of such urban work fixtures. there were tons of things to draw there, so i must go back for a photo and sketch session.

the car and the cafe girl - 100 drawings in 100 days

i took a drive to my home town, toowoomba several months back, and i just had to go check out my old street. my old house was a little bit different, but the house across the street was just the same. old man cumner (after whom the street was named. i want a street named after me!) owned this huge block of land, and among other things, he was fond of collecting old decrepit cars. this one is no exception - i think it's been there since i was a child! so, this drawing is called "old man cumner's car", and features the down-trodden fence to boot!

the other drawing is of my friend alana, who works in my favourite coffee shop in the world - the red cup in oklahoma city. if ever you are in the midwest and need a great coffee, and a fabulous vegetarian meal served by the sweetest hippies, go to the red cup on classen blvd. in okc. this is a picture i took of alana arranging some yellow roses, and i think it might just make the cut to the 100 paintings in 100 days!!

studio freak-show - 100 drawings in 100 days

i'm over a third of the way, and i'm finding myself a little stuck on what to draw... i hate that feeling!!!

so, the key here is, JUST DRAW! so, here we have the line-up of likely and unusual suspects from my toy shelf. minus the rubber ducky. he's in the bathroom... he's innocent.

my poor old "cat in the hat" talking doll (far left) is (now this is going to date me...) 35 years old. yes, folks, he's an antique. AND... he still talks. i didn't yank on his voice-box rip-cord until he died, oddly enough, because i was kinda tough on my toys. but he was my favourite, besides "bunny", which i still have, but he's looking a little sad - too sad for the line-up. and the others are, well, just inspirational muses for me, like right now.

so, this piece is called "studio freak-show", and i hope i will always love freaky little toys.

booger - 100 drawings in 100 days

i just received an email from a dear friend in oklahoma city, telling me that my kitty, booger, has a bladder infection. apparently, they are quite common with cats, but do have a tendency to recur quite frequently. he was in the kitty hospital overnight, and has to go back again tonight, so i am very sad...

booger was named as such by the marking under his right nostril - a brown smudge. so, i had to call him "booger", as is the name of this drawing.

i hope you get well soon, booger!