oars and paddles



dad's home-made Hartley 'trailer-sailer'

I've been working on a number of paintings  lately that are destined

for the galleries for summer exhibitions.

I've been thinking a lot about my own childhood.

we were lucky enough to have a holiday shack....

a pre-fab one room cabin standing literally on the sand, a few metres

above the high tide  mark, some 10km or so out of Geelong on Corio Bay.

my brother, sister and I spent almost every non-school day

just 'messing about' in boats....in the cold, in the sun.

my father built everything out of plywood.....

our cabin, our motorboat, our catamaran, our dinghies.

I've been painting little tackers with oars....

and researching their poses and posture, and wooden oars, plastic oars,

paddles, dinghies and kayaks (you think you know what something

looks like until you need to draw it!)


Tate Smith, Dave Smith, Murray Stewart and Jacob Clear


I cheered watching these Aussies win the Mens K4 1000m

in the London Olympics ,

Mens K4 1000m ....9August, 2012

and I love the fact that these four kayakers all started their paddling careers

as surf lifesavers, and are still active members of their respective Surf Clubs.

these are my little tackers......with their paddles,

 



and oars......all works in progress...


and take a look at this photo from the Sydney Morning Herald,

ah, the synchronicity!



Mens K4 Olympian Gold Medallists  ....(SMH 20 Aug 2012)



   it's as if my little fellows have grown up!!!   

hmmm....maybe I need to start a new series....what do you think?   

                            Jo  :)






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I want this job!

We've had some wild wintery weather of late.

I often need to clear my head , to bust out of the studio

and head to the beach to refresh my senses....

to move .....to breathe.....

the scent of saltwater is the best tonic for me....

I crave it.....it's an addiction!

I've been to this beach oodles of times but I've never seen this sign before.

what do they have on their heads?

they look like saveloy sausages with legs!

and what's with the reference to the weather?

I love this sign!

I think it's hilarious!

I want this job!

I want to design signs like this!



                                                         : )  Jo








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the back-up crew.....

'The Back-up Crew'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Did you see the jubilation on the faces of the Back-up Crew in

the control room at Nasa yesterday?

it took me back to seeing those iconic shots of  Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon ......

black and white TV.... the kids sent home from school....

sitting cross-legged on the floor.....Mars was next....

and still it seems so, so amazing.

my back-up crew are in a more thoughtful mood.....

pondering life's mysteries.....

will we get a chance to show our stuff? will our team win  the series?

what's for dinner?

'The Back-up Crew'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

'The Back-up Crew'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

and for all you sea-salts out there.... the wind is blowing front-on ......it's a fluky, changeable breeze.....

and I needed to keep the painting balanced!...

it's called artistic-licence!



                                   Jo :)

a foggy morning.....

Yesterday the fog rolled in and lingered just long enough for me to snap some photos.

it was like stepping into a Kathryn Ryan painting.

I first saw her work on the walls at Art Melbourne perhaps 10 years ago...

and I've never forgotten the power and the mesmerising effect they had on me.

'Approaching Fog'
Kathryn Ryan
Oil on Linen
137x183cm

her oil paintings are so calm and atmospheric...

......you can see more here.

and just as fast as the fog arrived, it lifted.



winter in Melbourne.....

just when I think I've had enough, it throws up a thrilling surprize....

a special winters day that leaves me wanting more!



                                              Jo  x





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Family Ties......

I've been very successful at avoiding much of the bad news on the airwaves, 

and I think I've restored a little creative equilibrium to my battered psyche.

...and I've even managed to catch highlights of some Olympic events!

but sadly for me I didn't manage to see or photograph my Exhibition

in its entirety before two paintings went to their new homes.

I went to the gallery on Sunday, and the two larger paintings were gone!

I mean I am delighted, really really happy that someone loves my work 

enough to want it on their walls, with their family, in their personal space.

normally this is a very good thing, it cheers me up and spurs me on

 back to the studio.....highfiving the clouds and patting myself on the back!

but for some reason I've had  trouble letting these two go.

I put a lot of heart and soul into these, and I think they show

the vulnerability of childhood....

and probably reflect the vulnerability that I was feeling.

'Family Ties'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

kids are our most precious resource.

and family ties are the breath that gives this resource its life.

'Family Ties'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

'Family faces are magic mirrors. 

Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, the present and future.'

Gail Lumet Buckly

she has such a knowing look, this little tacker.....contented, self-assured,

and slightly bemused.

she reminds me of someone! still trying to figure out who!



                                                   Jo   x







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