Sparrows on the Deck: 'The Child Within'

Showing posts with label 'The Child Within'. Show all posts

Wednesday, 8 July 2015

'Little Wavehoppers'

'Little Wavehoppers'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Last weekend the studio manager and I spent a wintery day at the beach

some 2 and half hours ~~west~~ east of Melbourne.

....I've long been told I don't know my left from my right ...

that must include east from my west as well!

Just 90 miles of sand and sea.

.....bracing and reviving!

cold, crisp and fabulous!

'Little Wavehoppers'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H112x102cm
H44x40ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

....not even winter wet-suits could tempt the surfers into the icy water...

...a few hardy anglers and us ...that was the only sign of life

for miles and miles of straight coast.

but today the car is loaded, brochures organised,

and I've just the delivery dockets and labels to print.

Delivery to 'The Camberwell' scheduled for this morning....

...manouevering huge canvases across busy main roads

in a howling wind is not my favourite part of this job!

but it's a nice feeling to send this painting out into the world...

hope it finds a happy beachy-house somewhere! Jo :)

'Little Wavehoppers'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

update: the 'Wavehoppers' have found a new home... would love to know which part of the country these little fellows are in now... drop me a line :)

Saturday, 13 June 2015

'beach hair and bare feet'...and memories resurfacing

'Beach Hair and Bare Feet'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' series
H120x120cm
47x47ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

Helping me sort through images for a publication, my daughter suddenly
exclaimed...'that boy in this painting looks like my cousin when he was small!'
this young man is now 21, but I had to agree ,
and to admit that unconsciously I've put his younger self
in one of my paintings.

can you see any resemblance?

I had no idea!
this photo has been stashed
in a shoebox for 15 years!

'Beach Hair and Bare Feet'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Funny how the mind works...

and how visual memory can linger!

.

Monday, 1 June 2015

'Hello Beach'

'Hello Beach'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt ©

It might be the first day of winter but the autumn colours at the moment
are exquisite.
But that's not to say I'm not still hankering for summer.
The days are so short and it's dark around 5.30.
....I'm looking forward to the equinox and knowing that we're over the hump
and rolling towards summer.

And as some encouragement...a painting from last summer's exhibition
at Manyung Gallery... Feb..2015...

'Hello, Beach'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

'Hello Beach'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H120x100cm
H47x39ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

....the tallest girl started life with a short blonde bob....
...you can see her original haircut here....
I like it better this length.... wish I could work such fast magic with mine!

Jo :) :)
.

Sunday, 31 May 2015

'Siblings'

'Siblings'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x92cm
H48x36ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxxxx

(quote found on the web)

'Siblings'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

...always an inspiration!

Jo :)
.

Tuesday, 26 May 2015

'Surf's Up'

'Surf's Up'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

I'm back to painting kids in wetsuits.
Lot's of blacks and neutral greys!
This one is from the archives .....

'Surf's Up'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H112x102cm
H44x40ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold

I love watching kids, I love being with kids.
I love their energy, their optimism.

I love the awkward years, the gangly years.....the years between four and twelve.....when they outgrow everything.....even it seems their own bodies.

when they're all elbows and knees.....and clutsy!

I love clutsy, clumsy kids!

and those kids that are so full on into everything, they can't wait for their brains to catch up with their bodies.

and those kids that just go about their business, lost in their own thoughts, planning, fiddling, creating, messing.

'We've had bad luck with our kids....
they're all grown up.' Christopher Morley

.... yes me too Christopher! ditto! Jo :)

.
And the words are from three plus years ago.

I still feel the same....

some things never change!

.

Monday, 18 May 2015

'Nature Boy'

'Nature Boy'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

We've had some wild and varied weather of late.
From lashings of hail, and inky-violet stormy skies,
to stunning autumn days like today.

stormy skies ...violets and lime greens...perfect!

from Brighton looking towards Melbourne

blues and ochres...from Sorrento pier

Sorrento jetty and dinghies

And from 2010, one of the earliest paintings
in my series 'The Child Within' .... you can read
how this Series of my nipper paintings and
beach-kids started ....right here. and here

'Nature Boy'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'The Child Within' Series
H122x41cm
H48x16ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold

And I'm still enjoying painting them!
Having a ball! a painting-ball !
Who would guess!

Jo :)

.

Saturday, 25 April 2015

'a fair-dinkum day'....

'A Fair-Dinkum Day'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x40cm
H48x16ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

I was looking for a title for this painting.

some paintings start with an idea, a title, but others take on an identity

once they're completed.

with the 100th Anniversary of Anzac Day fast approaching,

I was feeling quite patriotic. the words 'fair dinkum' kept popping up.

it was a phrase my father used a lot...it's kind of old-fashioned now ,

but I still hear it occasionally, especially away from the 'burbs'.

and every so often I've even been known to use it myself!

so this little lad became part of a fair-dinkum day,

and a fair-dinkum legend....the Anzacs!

'5000 Poppies Project'
Federation Square, Melbourne
photo: 'ohmygoodness ' Facebook

crochet poppies
4.30 am Anzac Day
Fed Sq staff rolling up the wet poppies to move them inside out of the rain
photos: ac
(thankyou my lovely daughter :)
on her way to the Shrine of Remembrance Dawn Service)

Anzac Day ....100 years....25 April 2015

'A Fair Dinkum Day'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

(update ... this little nipper went to a new home at the Canterbury Art Show 01-03 May 2015...
hello and thankyou ! fair-dinkum I'd love a pic of where he ends up! ..and thanks again :)

.

Thursday, 23 April 2015

...'Sisters'.....

photo: ac

"I know my older sister loves me

because she gives me all her old clothes

and has to go out and buy new ones."

(author unknown, attributed to a 4 year old named Lauren)

from quotegarden.com

'Sisters'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' series
H122x92cm
H48x36ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

'Sisters'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

I once worked with a girl who was one of 14 children. (ouch!)

She had an aunt who, every Xmas, would handmake each of the 8 girls

in the family a dress from the same pattern, and in the same fabric.

My friend, the youngest girl, dreaded this Xmas gift because she knew

that she would never outgrow all those hand-me-downs,

and that she'd be wearing versions of that dress for the next 12 years!

true story!

:) Jo

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

'We'll be Back Tomorrow'

Driving around the suburbs its not unusual to see large flocks

of Corellas hanging like masses of lanterns in the trees.

Apparently they move down from the higher areas to avoid the cold

and to feed on the autumn berries. Yesterday I saw a 'swarm' in the sky

....way too many to call it a 'flock'....there must have been a couple

of thousand birds.

They were too far away to photograph, but the noise was raucous!

So awesome! Magic!

This painting from my archives (2012) is called 'We'll be Back Tomorrow'

I enjoy seeing and hearing these huge flocks at this time of year....

and I hope they'll be back tomorrow too...

but only if they wait till I'm up and awake!

Jo :)

(you'll find more Cockatoo and Corella posts here and right here )

.

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

'Summer Weekends'

I've been busy...another painting heading to the beach without me!
Easter Exhibition at Manyung Gallery in Sorrento....
after this I've got to get back to the half-finished works
for the up-coming Art Shows that I do every year.
Nothing like fast-approaching deadlines
to get the blood pumping and paint flying!