A Lover of Reality

Wet day, Junction Hotel- Oil sketch 40x30cm

For me, the very essence of reality is that ‘reality’ is an illusion. Once I accept this and choose to love this wonderful illusion, as it unfolds before my eyes, then I can participate without judgment or expectation, and be present in each moment. I can simply be. Life.

This is freedom.

This sounds deep and philosophical but it is not really. If it is raining, there is no point complaining or thinking how great it would be if it would stop. Accept that it is raining. Love that if you can. There is nothing you can do about it. But you can adjust the lens through which you see the world. This process can be challenging… very challenging at times, but it is possible and worth it.

This painting is an illusion of the bigger illusion and is a reminder to me that the rain will end (whatever that rain may be. ie. a drama, an experience or anything) , to love reality and to be in this moment. This is eternity. This is how it is meant to be. Because it is.

‘Mudita’…what’s in a name?

Silverton River Gum I- Oil sketch 40x30cm

‘ David, just sway in the breeze…like a tree.’  In saying this, a dear friend Tess gave me the best advice. On so many levels this is useful. For example, on an emotional level we can feel things, wobble a little and then let them go, let them pass. If a tree held on to the wind it would surely break. I’m not saying that life is gentle. At times we are in the grip of a cyclone, being thrown around and almost uprooted.  I can use this analogy to step back and observe my own ego, to feel the flow of emotion, move with it, surrender for a bit and then sway the other way and then back to my center. I find that this is equally useful for both good and bad feelings. I find peace when I remember to sway.

‘Mudita’ is defined in Wikipedia as a Buddhist word meaning rejoicing in others’ joy.  The term mudita is usually translated as “sympathetic” or “altruistic” joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people’s well-being rather than begrudging it. To show mudita is to celebrate happiness and achievement in others even when we are facing tragedy ourselves. This definition to me implies a sense of separateness. For me, Mudita requires the acceptance of oneness and therefore a joy of all joy. What is joy anyway? I have found it sometimes very challenging to adopt the mind-set of Mudita and instead Compassion seemed more appropriate certain situations.

Either way, I am just a tree swaying with the breeze, dancing with all the other trees.

Tree of Life

Silverton River Gum II- Oil sketch 40x30cm

This is a painting of some trees in a river bed not far from Silverton NSW. It is not uncommon here for rivers to be dry most of the time. Below the surface, the river may still be flowing slowly deep in the sand. These trees thrive in these conditions. They can endure many years of drought  and then flooding. They are like islands of life in the desert. They are homes for birds, reptiles, marsupials, insects and lots of them. They are food, shelter, habitat and a resting place for the weary traveler.  I am drawn to the shade as I walk along the sandy expanses. These trees create their own micro-climate and attract complexity of life to them. They are incredibly beautiful. I hope to capture something of this with my painting.

Back in my home town.

Royal Hotel Canowindra, early morning- Oil sketch

This is close to home for me. In fact, you can see my garbage bin on the side of the road. The green thing with the red lid. This is early morning before the  hustle and bustle begins. The garbage truck has already been but it is before the council guys have come to sweep the gutter. I don’t like to get in their way. The main street of Canowindra has a rhythm which is almost like a clock to me. Public holidays almost seem spooky when the routine  is broken.  I have found a sense of belonging here. This is my place. This is is where I put my bin out and then bring it in. My participation in community and the illusion of time.

Light Dancing

Fallen Log Neville- Oil sketch 8x10 inches

Dancing Light- Oil sketch 8x10 inches

I am very inspired by this dry sclerophyll forest landscape. In this forest it is not uncommon to see Kangaroos, Wallabies, Echidnas and even Koalas. This is also a nesting place for the Sulphur Crested Cockatoo which are very noisy at this time of year- Spring. It is fun just watching their antics in the tree tops. I came across an Echidna recently in the forest. They are fascinatingly ancient creatures. When it saw me approaching it began digging itself into the ground. Very anti-social animal. Strong too as the ground is quite hard. Although noisy and crowded by unfriendly wildlife, the dappled light I find very seductive and I enjoy the challenge of capturing the light that I see dancing before me.

A Familiar Place

Vanishing Point- Oil sketch

Finns- Oil sketch 8x10 Oil on canvas

This is the where I live. Home. In fact, in the Wiradjuri language, ‘Canowindra’ means home. I do many paintings of Canowindra and the surrounding landscape. Although on the surface nothing seems to happen here (some say this is what Canowindra is famous for), the one constant thing that can be observed is change. The light, the mood and the flow of energy. This town has a life force of its own. I find it inspiring and beautiful. As well as its significance to the Wiradjuri people, the town has an interesting history which includes bushrangers and I am sure that many of their descendants are walking the street today. The main street has many bends in it as it evolved along the original bullock track not far from a crossing on the Belubula River. It is a place I know well but everyday I see something new.

‘Monuments’ 8X10 Oil sketch on canvas board

Monuments- Oil sketch

Paintings are interesting things really. Funny things. Sometimes they can say more about the artist than the subject. For me painting is not just a thing to do, it’s more like a process that i can’t not do. I always look at paintings and wonder why they were painted. What was driving the artist. Of all things, why this?

I am enjoying painting these small oil sketches as part of  ‘Mudita’, I am moving through a lot of ideas more quickly and this is refreshing. This old car and collapsed house  are a  great example of how a subject can call to an artist. Perhaps paintings are self portraits – of things that they see / feel about themselves. This is me. Standing my ground, exposed, earthy, defiant, and growing in character and beauty as time passes.

Standing Still

Standing Still -Oil sketch

There are certain places that invoke a sense of wonder in me. Sydney Central Station and  Lygon Street in Melbourne are those kind of places. They are like moody characters that hold your attention because you are uncertain about what’s going to happen next. Even when nothing is happening it is interesting because you know that something might.  I almost find them overwhelming and yet I am captivated by the light, forms, activities, the aliveness and colours. They defy reason for being. They just are.

Such a place is Silverton, in Out Back NSW. This is a harsh and unforgiving landscape and where once there was a prosperous mining town, there is now the occasional stone and tin ruin slowly sinking back to the earth. The slowness and the inevitabile decay of  these very humble dwellings  brings me sharply into the present moment. No things are permanent.

A dreamy cat leads to my awakening.

I’ve never been one for keeping a journal but I realise now that I need to connect the seemingly random events that occur in my life with my ever changing philosophy which also seems random but in a different way. Somewhere in this, I’m quite sure, my artwork is related also. We’ll see in good time I guess.

I’m thinking at this moment that what might be of interest, to me and you maybe, is not the actual events themselves or my final understanding but the dreamlike and perhaps paradoxical link between them. There may be some value in finding these connections, or at least exploring how amazing and complex, or unrelated and ridiculous, or simple and obvious, or contradictory and perplexing they may be.

So here it is. This Blog. My Journal…and how I came to be sitting here writing it.

A month or so ago I received an email from Alexander Hayes,  offering to help me learn to build a web2.0 website. I didn’t even know what web2.0 was, who he was or why he would want help me. I admit, I was sceptical. But at the same time I felt very excited that someone was interested in helping me achieve something that seemed to be beyond my capabilities.

Time to do some research, I thought.

Google… Alexander Hayes…flicked through website, OK …he’s an Educator…lives not far away. That explains a fair bit… clicked on some links as you do…found some things he is into. EduPoV…Eh! Wow! cool. Googled PoV …I’d never heard of any of this before. I kept clicking links and clicking back, reading stuff, looking at pictures moving more and more away from his website but still following threads of stuff he is into …and then I clicked on this video.

Intuitively I now had a good idea of where he was coming from, and why he may be interested in me and what I am doing with the gallery.

So I did reply to his email, met with him and I’m so glad I did, we built the bones of the site and here I am writing about it . In it. With much gratitude to Alex and Pinky.

photo diary 20-05-2009

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Drawing- from a passion.

This is like a Scrap Book of things I find about drawing. I will add to it I go.

Firekites – AUTUMN STORY – chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.