When you’re working on a piece, sometimes it doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes it goes horribly wrong and the more you try to fix it, the worse it gets. In your head you’re thinking, Should I kill it? Is it dead already? Then the other half of you is going, If I give it a bit more love, maybe it can be saved, maybe I … Continue reading Kill it, love it or f#%k it, struggling with art
A lot of artists don’t give their works a title and it really gives me the pip. Walking around galleries around the world, I’ll come across a spectacular artwork, I’ll walk up and get closer look, see who created it and what it’s called. Artist, Untitled, 1972 For me, not giving an artwork a name, is like not naming a child. A title gives an … Continue reading Why all artworks titled “Untitled” should be destroyed.
I know Billie Holiday’s song Strange Fruit is harrowing, devastating and political, so I am hesitant to use its title for this work. On the road to the local dump, plastic bags catch on the wind and collect in the hawthorn trees along the road. It’s strangely disturbing and beautiful at the same time. I guess using a title like Strange Fruit brings with … Continue reading Would Billie Holiday be upset if I titled this “Strange fruit”?
If you’re an artist or writer or musician or anyone who dabbles in creative pursuits, you’ll be very familiar with the bouts of self-doubt. Especially in the early stages of any new work.My collage has been evolving dramatically over the last few years. Early stages involved making work out of existing images from magazines – umbrellas, telephones, screaming mouths. Then I moved to creating images … Continue reading Lost or heading in the right direction?
It’s been blazingly hot in Australia lately with temperatures pushing 40C (100F) and bushfires blazing across the countryside, decimating the landscape and taking stock and houses with it. It felt weird to be painting while fires were burning not far from me, a little bit like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, but I was on stand-by with the Rural Fire Service and have a very … Continue reading Fiddling while Rome burns
Keep calm. I have a solo exhibition which opens on March 7 at Gaffa gallery in Sydney. It would all be very exciting except at the moment I only have one completed piece of the 10 work show. I’m not panicking yet, but I feel my stomach churning and despite the looming deadline (I need to supply images by January 22) I am procrastinating. It’s … Continue reading How to focus in a state of panic
Time Magazine crowned Barack Obama 2012 person of the year and commissioned this portrait by artist Vik Muniz. It struck me how many graphic images have been created of Barack Obama. There’s thousands of images of Presidents, but I have never seen so many graphic representations of any other President like Obama. I particularly like this one by Vik Muniz as his face is … Continue reading Is Obama the most inspiring President for artists?
Ray Monde 