Monday 18 November 2013

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Table Top Etching Press For Sale


This press is made from a 1908 design antique, has a press bed 530 x 750 mm (about 21 x 30 inches) and you can have it in your studio for a mere fraction of a King's ransom. Are you lucky or what?
Go on- choose the lucky option... or what is kinda vacuous, not exciting at all I reckon but, of course, costs naught.

Monday 2 September 2013

Puppy Painting


This puppy was painted in a shoe store in a large Auckland Mall and as soon as it was done a second, larger puppy was painted in another shoe store 100 metres away in the same Mall.
A really busy week lost in the close examination of puppy fur and earth colours.

 The second puppy. ..

..

Sunday 11 August 2013

Pop Art Mural


Another weekend spent in the office's of Yellow painting large Pop Art onto a wall.

Thursday 1 August 2013

Pop Art Murals



Number four in a series of murals decorating the sales headquarters of Yellow Pages. On Friday after work this was a huge white board painted wall and this is what it looked like at midnight on the Sunday.
Another action packed weekend for two fisted painters!!!  I had to again send out a call to my son Eli to help out on this, the most complicated of the mural-in-a-weekend series, and he came in on the Saturday and again on the Sunday. When Eli was a young lad he had his own Graphic Superhero identity: WizWolf.
So this was WizWolf and Johnny to the rescue!! Stand back folks!! Two Fisted Painters are Go!!

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Pop Art Mural 3


Number three mural for Yellow Pages. I do them over weekends so as not to disturb the staff but this one took from Friday morning till Monday night because the wall was bright yellow and covered in fixed designer shelving which had to be removed and the surface made good and repainted white before work on the mural could begin. A real workup for one guy but fun too. It's nice to be working in a warm quiet office building on weekend days and nights while outside it's Winter in the busy city.

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Pop Art Murals

 Here's a couple of murals I enjoyed doing. An average sort of corporation, working hard for their share of the market place have replaced all the posters of teamwork and mission statements that all seem to have that somewhat oily politically correct edge and had me put up giant, colourful pop art representations of happy customers to brighten up the staff's environment. Pictures of happy customers. And isn't that the whole point?




Saturday 8 June 2013

Forest Mural


 This mural is 22 metres long and is painted on 18 panels screwed to a suburban fence in Mount Roskill, Auckland. It is removable, like a circus tent. It is unusual in that it contains some species of small, parasitic creeper plant life and several grass species never before seen. I made them up, playing God just a wee bit. Eat your heart out Darwin...




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Thursday 30 May 2013

The Forest Mural Comes Home

 Winter is upon us and it is impractical to drive up to Mount Roskill and chance the weather painting the mural on site. It's all designed and undercoated and on the advice of my son Eli I packed up the mural panels, most of them, and got out of Dodge and raced back to my cosy studio.


 In the studio at home in Waihi there is a pot belly stove and good lighting and the weather does not matter.
The mural panels are being screwed to the wall, two or three at a time, and finished off.

I have a fortnight to finish and deliver it, screw it back in place and apply the final touch ups.
It's a tight schedule and a worthy challenge for which I hope I shall not be found wanting. Fingers crossed...



 Painting the tree ferns was scary but one step at a time and they came to life, much to my relief
Tomorrow it's back to tree trunks and forest floor and all the debris and shady plants that live there and those things that every artist lives for: light and shade.


Wednesday 27 March 2013

Dog Painting

 The dog finished before distressing. I attacked it with sandpaper and scrapers which was fun. This is a brand and had to be done just so and in a tight time frame. It was great to be back on a building site with all the tradesmen and their cheerful energy and also great to have a visit to Wellington where I grew up and where this is located in the heart of the city.

 Day one. Drawing up the puppy 
Below, the finished puppy, distressed and aged and ready to sell shoes and finished a day ahead of schedule..Aren't we good wee doggies?



Wednesday 6 March 2013

1925 Grocery Mural







This mural I have been working on sporadically for ten months now.
 I have had mixed feelings about this mural but am enjoying it now and of course I have learned a lot doing it. It's been like art school in a way. It still needs a couple of days work to finish it and this is what it looked like when I took off to Wellington for a week to paint a giant puppy in a Hush Puppies shoe store there. Commercial art; shopfitting decoration, and now it is back to public art again.