..and a few more bird photos...

would make a good design for a statue :)

the females have little pink striped vests

...these little birds are just so cute....raucous noise like a screechy creaky door...and they are absolutely making a huge mess of my car and driveway with their nibble-and-drop diet...and I'll be sorry to see them move on to another area once they've demolished my trees. Truly!
so these will be the last gang-gang photos...for now !  time to get back to the brushes!  Jo  :)

.

...painting the town red....The Camberwell Art Show 2015..

Camberwell Art Show 2015

In its 50th year this show is declaring it will paint the town red.

I've had my own little redheads  painting my driveway with cm-deep layers 

of nibbled seedpods and gumnut blossoms.

 a small group of Gang-Gang cockatoos have taken up residence in 

my front yard. How cute are these little males? and the fancy hairstyle!

Gang-Gang Cockatoo, Victoria, Australia

when your hairstyle matches your dinner

as usual in the bird-world the females are a little more restrained

Gang-Gang Cockatoo...such a handsome boy!

you just want to touch those feathers!

Gang-gang Cockatoo
 photo: Peter Fullagar

'Little Wavehoppers'
 detail
 Jo-Ann Hunt©

and these young fellas are hoping to find a new home at 'The Camberwell'

probably the best known of all the Art Shows in Australia, it opens 

Friday July 10 and runs all week until Sunday 19th July.  

(in 2012 I won an award at this show , and for years it's been a must-see favourite of mine... so try to  take time-out to pop along and see a diverse  range of art from all over Australia ) say hello if you see me! 

                     Jo 

.

                              

...worms, anyone?....

miss Hop-a-long

I've been adopted by two young female magpies.
they know where to find me, sitting inside in the early morning sun,
reading the newspaper.

they're very insistent, bobbing their heads up and down at the window,
pacing back and forth on the deck, telling me they're ready
and waiting for their breakfast.

one has a gammy leg...we call her "Hop-A-long"...and they both are fearless
and take food from our fingers.
What I find astonishing is that they just bowled up one morning
and they trained me to feed them.....

...and I thought we were the smarter animals in the food chain!

love the slogan on the back door...'have worms will travel' !
...and how's this for a career path! the ingenuity of small-business never ceases to amaze me!

...wouldn't it be great  if  this delivery truck did home deliveries!
might have some very enthusiastic dinner guests!

Mordialloc Creek, Victoria

.......and I wonder if my two young lady-magpies are related to this rescued maggie?

                                               Jo   :)

.

possum ears and noses....

possum tenants!

The possums have been very insistent these last 4 months that I must
wake up every night between 3 and 5.30am to enjoy their galloping
across my tin roof.

A call to Pete the Possum-Man last November led to a one-way gate
being installed so the little critters living in my roof could leave and
not get back in.

Well that was the theory!

Installing a video camera finally revealed that, as I had insisted,
they had indeed managed to outsmart the one-way door
by squeee--eee--eezing in and out a new hole just above it.

To cut a long story short..... they are out, but still defiantly banging
and crashing at night at the old spot attempting to get back in.

Now I live across the road from a park with lots of trees, and 200mtrs
 from a HUGE golf-course and bush park with thousands of tall trees.

For goodness sake guys, give me a break! Get back  to nature!

Victorian Ringtail Possum

This gorgeous creature was so put out she / he? sauntered
across the window sill beside our tv, probably eyeing off
a spot to curl up on the couch!
I couldn't resist a photo....before I shooed her into the neighbours!

It was only when checking these shots I realised the similarity
between her and my paintings!

gorgeous! but noisy!
Ringtail Possum

Check out those gorgeous bumpy pink ears, huge liquid eyes
and that wet pink nose!  Oh, and sort of round, stumpy toes!

'Summer Freedom' no 1
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

work in progress
detail
 Jo-Ann Hunt©

And I've had my first full night's sleep in months....all the more energy
to launch into the studio and finish work for next week's Exhibition!
Onward!!

                                                      Jo  :)

( and I'm wondering if any members of my roof-squatting possum family
are the ones I rescued way back here .... humph!!   )

Western Pygmy Possum

This photo popped up in my Newsfeed on Fb...
apparently this little cutie native to Western Australia
is one of the largest species of Pygmy Possum in the world...
and it's only the size of a mouse!
wonder how many housewives have an opinion on this little guy!
photo via 'Australian Geographic'

 .

hello!

joannstudio1 (at) gmail (dot)com     

yes I am still here....! 

I know, I know..I need to get my I.T act in order and update 

my web-presence, facebook, instagram, twitter, google-plus etc etc 

...feeling exhausted just thinking about it...and I don't have any of those! 

just this lil' blog!

work in progress
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Feeling shell-shocked!

jeepers ...it's May already!

up to my eyeballs in paint and canvas and pelicans!

when I hunker down to paint I survive by ignoring the computer.

Three big exhibitions coming up and never enough time..... I need electric brushes!

First up is the Canterbury Art Show.

Opening Night Fri 01 May 8-11pm
Sat 02 May 10-5pm
 Sun 03 May 10-4pm

Catalogue here.....

But if you can't make it you can say hello on  .....

  joannstudio1 (at) gmail (dot)com     

...... one Exhibition down and two to go! 

    I've had my coffee break..now to get to the Studio and back to business!

                                      :)  Jo 

.

Art and Fear

'The Gift'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

The burden for the artist....is that the lawyer and doctor practice their callings.

The plumber and the carpenter know what they will be called upon to do.

They do not have to spin the work out of themselves,

discover its laws,

and then present themselves turned inside out to the public gaze.

(Anne Truitt quoted in the book 'Art and Fear' by David Bayles and Ted Orland )

'The Gift' no 2
Jo-Ann Hunt
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2007
sold

'The Gift'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

'The Gift'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

yes....my art is my gift....but it's also my torment.


                                                                          Jo x








.

...an Australian valentine.....

WildLife Sydney Zoo, Sydney, NSW, published this photo 

of Bruce the koala last year, and I've been waiting 12 months to use it!

Happy Valentines Day to you and yours!

    (....and for my close encounter with a koala in the wild....June 2014.....)


                                                                 Jo  :)

'The Tumbleweeds'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

     for more 'Tumbleweeds'.... click this link and fly back to December 2013...


        .                       

....happy 'Australia Day' !

'We Love a Sunburnt Country'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

.....happy 'Australia Day' !

....and for all of you from overseas that drop in to this blog....

some Aussie kangaroos....and a trip down memory lane for me!

....and a 'reminder-to-self' that one day....soon... I should

 commission myself to paint my own kids!    

                                           :)   Jo

PS  : you can see  'We Love a Sunburnt Country'  by clicking here ...


.

..stepping into 2015....

photo: Sun Gazing on Facebook

I wish I knew who said this because I like it....so for those who like to set goals....

"Life is think and do, think and do, think and do.

Small steps can be greater than great leaps."

photo: Sun Gazing on Facebook

...so here's to many small steps making your year a great one!

Sydney Fireworks, New Years Eve
...from recorded TV live coverage.

.

.

..good morning it's Christmas.....

'Percy Button's Aspiration' wearing his Xmas finery
Hay Street Mall, Perth
Sculptors Joan Walsh-Smith and Charles Smith 1996

Three days of  Xmas dinners...

.....the first with adults outnumbered by the ankle-biters, 

santa and a summery breeze on the deck .....

.....the next with a new baby and perfect weather for the pool....

and then a table that filled the room and a game of Kubb.

and now to diet! 

after we polish off the leftovers !  :)

.

houses with chicken legs....Perth

'Baba Yaga Houses'
Mahwa Fahmy
2012
photo:www.central.wa.edu.au

I can't resist posting these photos of this sculpture by Mahwa Fahmy,
an Art and Design student.
We drove past them on our way to enjoy a long Sunday breakfast,
and I couldn't get them out of my mind. Baba Yaga houses belong
to Slavic folklore...who knew? What fun these are...you can see them
in Museum Park, Aberdeen Street, Northbridge.

There's better photos and more info here   at perthphotodaily.blogspot.com
(actually now I'm back in Melbourne I could waste days just enjoying
the photos on this blog )

house with chicken legs!
Mahwa Fahmy
photo: www.central.wa.edu.au

 .

....Perth...Western Australia....

Peter Pan ....by George Frampton, 1929
Queens Gardens, East Perth

two rabbits at the base of  the George Frampton 'Peter Pan '
look, there's even a little snail!

this squirrel made me homesick for my dog!

Perth, glorious, beautiful, stunning Perth.

I've just come back from a way-too-quick trip to Perth to catch up with my son.

wow I love this city.

the beaches are sensational, the views around the Swan River,

Fremantle and its historical buildings...and no traffic!

the city has soul and it is human-scaled.

police on horses in the mall

Friday Night Noodle Market

the waca 

at City Beach....with my kids :)

floor to ceiling windows make the trip to the ladies a real treat....
...Indiana Restaurant, Cottlesloe 

I love it! wondering if I could live there and cope with the heat.

hmmmm  :)

and the art....did I mention the public art....it is everywhere ...

and so approachable, entertaining and totally beguiling.

not too many pretensions here!

a little tourist with 'Kangaroos on the Terrace'
Stirling Gardens
St Georges Terrace ,Perth

'Kangaroos on the Terrace'
Joan Walsh-Smith and Charles Smith
1997

a tourist family in front of the big one.
Kangaroos on the Terrace.....there's a mob of 5

'Kangaroos on the Terrace'.....
fascinating to watch people interact with these life-size lovelies!

....now I need to get back to work.....
....my exhibition deadline is looming and I've still so much to do!

                    Jo   :)

view of Perth from Kings Park


.