2016 Royal Melbourne Show

I was honoured to be the printmaking judge at this year's Royal Melbourne Show. On judging day, September 9, I was thrilled to discover an old friend, Oenone Oxlade (pictured with me above, right) was one of the stewards.

The prints made by primary and secondary students were a particular delight. It was also a pleasure to meet other members of the dedicated team at Art, Craft and Cookery who work so tirelessly behind the scenes. 

Monday's visit to the Show, my first in many years, was an absolute treat, as was hanging out with Shane Jones, Gracia Haby, Louise Jennison and catching up with Jill Kellett, Vicki Fowler, Kerry Fowler and Art, Craft and Cookery Coordinator, Ramona Barry. 

Pictured with some of the marvellous children's prints. Photo credit: Shane Jones.

Primary and secondary students printmaking section, 2016 RMS (Detail 1)

Primary and secondary students printmaking section, 2016 RMS (Detail 2)

Here are some more visual highlights of our wonderful day at the 2016 Royal Melbourne Show, starting with the Art, Craft and Cookery section...

...followed by the cats section...

Left: Jill Kellett and far right: respected cat judge, Dr Kerry Fowler

Above and directly below: Gracia Haby, Louise Jennison with newfound feline friend

Dr Kerry Fowler (right) gave a fascinating talk. Here she extols the virtues of Summer, a bicolour Ragdoll cat

Left-right, foreground: Louise Jennison, Jill Kellett and Vicki Fowler

...and some random animal views:

The sign above this magnificent beast reads: 'I weigh 1050 kg. I am 22 months old and very friendly'. And so he was.

Thank you to Louise Dennison for introducing us to the thrills of motocross:

As old friends and longtime visitors to this blog will be aware, I grew up near Luna Park in St. Kilda, which fostered a lifelong fascination with sideshows and fun fairs:

The following view was taken from our Ghost Train carriage (thus the ominous presence of the spider and skeletal hand). Shane and I have the Skyflyer ride earmarked for next year. Roll on, RMS 2017!

Outsider Artists

The miniature linocuts Wallpaper Rose, the Disappearing Woman, Spider Woman and Bearded Lady featured in this post are part of Outsider Artists, a long-planned series that was stalled when other projects intervened. They finally came into the world after one of several unsuccessful attempts to edition the linocut Cossodes lyonetii Moth Woman. Sick and tired of wasting so much ink after each failed effort, I decided to proof some of them. A further incentive was the birthday of my good friend Paul Compton. Paul has always encouraged me to continue with the series, so it's entirely fitting that the very first proofs were presented to him on that auspicious occasion. 

Lino block and first proof of Wallpaper Rose, the Disappearing Woman

Hand-coloured artist proof of Wallpaper Rose, the Disappearing Woman

Lino block and first proof of Spider Woman

Hand-coloured artist proof of Spider Woman

Lino block and first proof of Bearded Lady

Hand-coloured artist proof of Bearded Lady

Meanwhile, acting on my partner Shane Jones's suggestion, I turned to Master Printer Bill Young to edition the vexed Cossodes lyonetii Moth Woman. I'm extremely fortunate that he agreed to take it on, especially at such short notice. Bill is one of the finest, most knowledgeable printers in the country. He's done a magnificent job and I can't thank him enough. Today I'll begin hand colouring the edition, which should still be ready by the deadline. The results will be shared in a future post. 

Once this is done, I stand firmly by my intention to take a break from lino cutting. Although the freshness and immediacy of working on a small scale has revived something of the sense of pleasure and satisfaction I once derived from making relief prints and the completed set of Outsider Artists prints may also become the basis for an artist book, all of this will happen in my own good time. 

The 2015 Ballarat Show

Every year Shane and I eagerly anticipate the Ballarat Show. This year's show opened last Friday and ran throughout the weekend. We spent the entire day there on Sunday. The weather was marvellous (I can't believe how lucky we were - it's pouring as I write this) and we had a fabulous time. As I've mentioned before, I'm irresistibly drawn to fairgrounds, probably a result of growing up in St. Kilda near Luna Park, and the subject particularly impacted on my earlier work. Below are just some of the day's highlights.

This prize winning cake pays tribute to an Australian icon:

There was even a small circus. The acts took me back to my childhood:

Morning tea was courtesy of the Country Women's Association. The scones were delicious:

I've never been able to resist puppets:

This attraction, a staple of most fun fairs, is a potent reminder of childhood visits to Luna Park:

Our favourite event is the Dog's High Jump. This was the State Championship:

Here is the winning jump - a magnificent achievement from a wonderful little dog called Jessie. At 2.6 metres, it was an equal State Record:

Her owner was thrilled and so were we. Immediately after her win, which was against some pretty stiff competition, Jessie jumped into his arms. She seemed oblivious to her spectacular win - all she wanted to do was play with her red ball.

The bored attendant directly below couldn't believe we genuinely wanted to visit the Ghost House. We had the feeling he hadn't had too many takers:

It was pitch black inside, and some of the ghoulish exhibits were only visible when I used the flashlight on my camera:

At the Pony Ranch we discovered these miniature horses. Mini (foreground below) was keen to try Shane's coffee:

We went for a ride on the ferris wheel:

Then caught the last of the show jumping:

These gorgeous kids were clearly enjoying the show almost as much as we were:

Next year we are intending to visit the Fun House, which is guarded by this gargantuan fellow. (I can see why clowns have an established place in horror movies):

We left as the show closed its gates for another year, declaring this to be the best Ballarat show ever.