Show Me The Treasure

Home Archive for 2012

at 08:48

Pennants for Farmer Bart?

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It may be that Farmer Bart Brassica has got into the spirit of the season (or vis versa) but for the past week he has been seen sporting this interesting rooster finial on his trusty trident. Does Bart have something to crow about or is it his way of saying 'chicken-shit' to the seasonal madness? Granny Egg has

at 20:52

Bart's Blue Heaven

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Heedless of the writing on the wall, Bart stands to stare at this blue Bugatti. Bart's vehicle of choice is the tractor but a racy de-capito sedan has its attractions, especially for those whose hair is unbudge-able by wind. Bart is pondering whether the number on the side refers to the price or has some obscure numismatic or

at 18:19

Can Somebody Set The Table ?

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Can somebody set the table? Silver, something old is best. Fish Forks and knifes, silver tines from other houses, other lives. This set, in pen and wash, might be good only for printed matter, literary bon mots, paper plates and paper napkins. Set the Table, the archetypal job of childhood, poner la mesa, is, I hear, going out

at 16:47

Incomplete Elements - When is something too sketchy?

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Incomplete Elements - When is something too sketchy? Image

This is yet another sketchy sketch from my favourite Sydney ramen place Tanpopo, opposite the Oaks in Neutral Bay. Looking back over the sketches, it would be the kind of distortion of truth that poets are so good at to say they have noticeably improved. It might even be that they have got worse, as here Julian, who

at 18:28

Title Clues in Yoko Ogawa's Novel

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Last week I read 'The Housekeeper + The Professor' by Yoko Ogawa. If you look closely at the image of the cover I've scanned in - and it is only in writing this that I paid attention to this detail myself - you can see that it was bought at LifeLine . Should I note the coincidence, that

at 12:07

The Cloud Hour - When White is Really Blue

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The Cloud Hour - When White is Really Blue Image

It has been my fond misperception that clouds were mostly white. Was it all those early puffs of cotton woolliness daubed on the mid-blue skies of that grainy and forgiving art paper handed round in kindergarten? This turning blueness happened last Sunday afternoon, the harder I looked the bluer nearly all of that which was once white seemed.

at 12:23

By the Knitting of the Bollards - Dee Why has Treble Tribal Types

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By the Knitting of the Bollards - Dee Why has Treble Tribal Types Image

In a move that suggest something of a psychedelic parterre, an Alice-esque take on bobbles, afghan squares and plain old stripes, these four bollards were all dressed up, knitta-style, and that they had no where to go was no problem at all. In a move that suggest something of a psychedelic parterre, an Alice-esque take on

at 21:33

Classic Tanpopo - Four People in Search of Story

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Classic Tanpopo - Four People in Search of Story Image

What is dinner but a chance to tell a story?Or at least get one off the ground. Of these four people all seemed intent on telling it like they would like it to be. What else can one do? Drawing-wise, mostly I lament my lack of skill with perspective, colour, shadow, the built environment and witty attention to

at 13:45

A Peek at an Unpicked Peck of Unpickled Peppers

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A Peek at an Unpicked Peck of Unpickled Peppers Image

Bart is fairly glowing with the reflected radiance of this crop of Yellow Onomatopoeic Peppers. Or, more accurately this is how Bart refers to this variety of peppers, having been in something of a quandary of indecision ( a bit like a quarry but much more cramped, according to Frank Winkler, the self-declared local expert on rock breaking),

at 18:37

Branching out with Knitteds

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Finding Knitta style woolens inside a garden? Brilliant! From a little ways off the woollified tree in this Rozelle terrace front garden seemed to have a humdinger crop of over-sized golden oranges. Closer up, they proved to be pom-poms, with an avant-guard striped garter stitch understory. And then there was the catch-all thingy on the budgy cage. This

at 18:07

Eyes Down - Racing to the End of 1Q84

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Eyes Down - Racing to the End of 1Q84 Image

Marukami's novel, 1Q84, purchased in Tokyo last year, presents a challenge, a strange book that gets stranger, it weighs in at close to 1,000 pages. With a theme Marukami comes back to again and again, adolescents who fall irretrievably in love in High School, separated by circumstance but are always in search of their True Love. Yes, for

at 18:55

Diner in Blanc~ A Serious Case of the Dress Ups

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Diner in Blanc~ A Serious Case of the Dress Ups Image

Last Saturday I joined in what might be a very large dinner party, a picnic fresco y el blanco, a group of devoted foodies, and around 1,500 versions of what to wear when you're wearing white. The first Diner in Blanc in Sydney was picture perfect, as proved by a host of photo snappers both the kind in

at 12:06

Whiskful Thinking

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These two broom, perhaps stilled in mid-sweep from their own bewitched animation, camouflaged by dappled shade, lie on the path beside the Ota River in Hiroshima. The twig broom's no fuss technology has endured millenia, like bread, perhaps because it works. While it would be far-fetched to call it elegant, it has its own endearing aesthetic, a sense

at 10:19

Return to Keirle Park for the Scratchy Paper Blues

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Return to Keirle Park for the Scratchy Paper Blues Image

And it's not just blues. It's the pinks, yellows and purples. The idea is terrific and so is the little stick that comes with it but oh la la that rainbow hippy effect is just all too much.Frankly this paper stinks. One good thing about the smell is that it made me seek a better ventilated spot than

at 12:27

Voila! Playing with Violas

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Is there something underhanded here? Of late Farmer Bart Brassica has aspired to what Mavis Eggwhistle calls 'floral fiascos', trying to out-style a certain local farmhand's recent success as a horticultural pin-up person. Here Bart is aiming for a dramatic Spanish effect, in the style of the Toledo master of the still life, Juan Cotan. How Bart comes

at 11:11

Top Ten Secret Sydney Days for Visitors ~ Number 1 The Rock Pool

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Top Ten Secret Sydney Days for Visitors ~ Number 1 The Rock Pool Image

While there are the obvious pleasure of surf beaches, many visitors miss what is one of the great contemplative treasures of the Australian east coast, the rocky beach headlands with their natural intertidal rock pools. The rock pool is a world in microcosm, a glinting and glorious brilliant home to to dozens of small animals such as anemones,

at 14:33

Tanpopos' Tempura Trap

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OK, so on our previous visit to Tanpopo, Julius, one of the chefs, sent out a complimentary and incredibly delicious bowl of tempura for us. We had never ordered the tempura before and perhaps he knew this. So last night I ordered tempura, and set to to sketch what was on the table before it arrived.It might be

at 07:55

Meet the Makings - What is the Collective Noun for Inks

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Meet the Makings - What is the Collective Noun for Inks Image

This line up of inks, brings with it the question what might be the collective noun for inks. A Writ of Inks, a Well of Inks, a Rorsasch of Inks, a Sink of Inks? If they are lined up do they become a Cortege or a Procession, if they circle are they a Proscenium or an Arch, if

at 17:57

Tarantula - New Play by Alana Valentine

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Tarantula - New Play by Alana Valentine Image

Ok, so what is the conceptual link between the street art in Newtown and the new play by Alana Valentine which has just premiered at the King Street Theatre In Newtown? Something about the creation of roles and personas, the two characters busy creating a third, the omniscient 'eye' being all us theatre-goers sitting in the dark? It

at 07:52

Tanpopo goes Manga !

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The messy sketchiness of Friday's drawing shows I am spending more time eating and less time drawing, This week ended up with two visits to Tanpopo in Cremorne once on Friday for ramen and on Sunday for grilled king fish and their very good pork belly. We have reached a miraculous point at Tanpopo where the chef sends

at 18:26

When is a Room Too Small ? Pointed Moments of Honesty

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When is a Room Too Small ? Pointed Moments of Honesty Image

Is this large sign a just too honest statement about the dimensional challenges of this advertised hotel room? Or does it refer to the act of poking, of course by which I mean the metaphorical act of not minding one's own business. In any case the room, small or not, is ephemeral and perhaps, in any case, you'd

at 08:33

Frame by Frame, The Pre-Billed Signal Box

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Frame by Frame, The Pre-Billed Signal Box Image

The signal box, beloved 3-D substrate of the street artist, has been pre-hit up up in Brisbane, leaving both its functionality as a reference point about failed signals and adding local colour. This arty one perhaps is a reference to Alex Harvey's song, Framed? Perhaps not, but still there is an argument that those rollers are a sly

at 11:42

Brunswick Street Beauties - Brisbane's Architectural Shiners

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Brunswick Street Beauties - Brisbane's Architectural Shiners Image

Visiting Brisbane, while there funky shops, wonderful restaurants, stacks of groovy coffee spots, galleries and miles of river to glide over on the Rivercat or the charming City Ferry, a few hours spent meandering the streets will reward you will such classics as these three Queenslanders, all from Brunswick Street. I was preconditioned to notice - well it

at 12:34

Curiosity and the Corduroy Alpacas

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Curiosity and the Corduroy Alpacas Image

We were warned that the alpacas were not exactly reliable as to their manners but this one, with his fashion shot perfect focus on the middle distance looks too pretty to spit. There is a snow-slope groomedness to the just shorn fleece that is reminiscent of a chenille bedspread. This fellow was at the Alpaca Farm in Broke,

at 08:06

In The Lush - Frank goes Hoe Up

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Ever since Frank Winkler heard the rumour that Mr Farmhand had been paid for modelling work by an English gardening magazine, (see A Turnip for the Books) Frank has loitering in various picturesque places and gesticulating madly to get folks to take his picture. The trouble is that, for photographic purposes, Frank is an over-gesticulator, and because of

at 15:09

Sunday with a View to Bouddi National Park

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Sunday with a View to Bouddi National Park Image

Sunday morning, it seems nearly too prosaic to put in the edge of brown red roof tiles, when the horizon so completely trumps it as the ascendant horizontal line. But the roof's regularity and pattern seem remind one that the the upside of repetition is pattern. Off in the distance the headland, a part of Bouddi seems unassailable,

at 13:45

Holgarised - Increasing the Cartoon Ratio

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Holgarised - Increasing the Cartoon Ratio Image

Well, back at Tanpopo for dinner. This place now feels pretty well like home, except that wonderfully we get excellent Japanese food, that I neither to shop or cook, and nobody asks us into the kitchen to clean up. Last night it was the vegetable gyoza, then grilled King Fish jaw, surely the best cut of fish, with

at 13:17

The Well Spoken Orange Slice

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After a warm-up exercise of candying cumquats on Saturday morning I set out to glace slices of blood orange, starting out with the syrup leftover from the cumquats and gradually adding more sugar to supersaturate the oranges. After quite some time, perhaps an hour, time on Saturday morning is not the bustling weekday time that gets measured in

at 10:40

Coffee to Crow About

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It might be hard to find a roof line trickier, in its intersections, angles and general about-faces than the Crows Nest Community Centre. It suggests a maths theorem that is yet to be proved. The drawing here, scribbled in while having a coffee at Bean Drinking - on the south side of Crows Nest square, goes, well pear-shaped

at 21:11

Under a Cloud - Dark Thoughts on a Fine Day

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Under a Cloud - Dark Thoughts on a Fine Day Image

There are days when Mavis Eggwhistle, literally, lives under a dark cloud. Some might be tempted to call it despair but it seems this particularly black cloud came out of her oven when she accidentally left it on for a day or two when she was trying to cook ornamental candied yams in anticipation of Turkey Day. There

at 22:59

If The Fit is Finn - Two Green Shades

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If The Fit is Finn - Two Green Shades Image

Years ago there was a radio show called Adventures in Good Music, which I enjoyed. Now there is Adventure Time, which, while I am not in any way a zealot, I must be a fan. So, someone in my house says he is planning on a going to a Year 11 Informal Character Party as Finn and can

at 13:48

Shady Strawberry Fiats Forever

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In what amounts to a brilliant fiat, as Bart Brassica himself has been telling Mavis E, he has managed to lure his shadow back by placing this extra large strawberry on his head. It is unclear why shadows find strawberries so alluring or how the idea came to Bart in the first place, but as you can see

at 08:43

The Key to Operatic Moments?

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Like the message, 'Drink Me' that Alice finds, the Opera House seems to be loaded, by dint of those vast arcs, shining heroic whites, the complex intersect of curves and sky, to be saying Draw Me. For me this is nearly an act of arrogance, a devil-may-care lack of respect, tackling a subject which is beyond what

at 11:48

Cartoon Hat Man - Gone is Gone

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More than experimental, this is touch and go, or at least the hat is. Better make that gone. More than experimental, this is touch and go, or at least the hat is. Better make that gone. More than experimental, this is touch and go, or at least the hat is. Better make that gone. More than experimental, this

at 10:22

The Architecture of Flotsam - Manly Lagoon

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The Architecture of Flotsam - Manly Lagoon Image

Why do things aggregate? I found this half-formed tumbrel of things that float by the edge of Manly Lagoon, walking back to Keirle Park. The longer sticks seem to form, well sticking points, while the smaller leaf litter makes knotty cross-overs . Is this the way star dust might accumulate. I expected this clump to have more rubbish

at 08:14

Umbel Days and The Timely Procession of Parsley

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Umbel Days and The Timely Procession of Parsley Image

On this side, what I consider to be the up side, of the planet, at this latitude, it is time to plant parsley, which as a garnish Michelle Pfieffer in the movie 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' once deemed the equivalent of the song 'Clouds', though the otherway around. Of course, the garnish parsley which she so flippantly flipped

at 10:17

The Glad Hand - A Winklerism

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Of all the farmhand work, edging the gladioli is perhaps the most exacting, and accordingly attracts the highest hourly rate. Frank Winkler considers himself to the Glad Hand par excellence has told most of the folks between Lambertville and Princeton that there is a Gladiologist Guild and anyone hired for Glad work, either edging, as we see here,

at 08:12

Cupidness

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There might be something not quite rational - OK there is definitely something not rational - that while I am happy to blog prose, pics, micro-text like words, punster titles and drawings I am often shy of posting poems, it seems too like self-publication ( yes, yes, see above). However once something has slipped off into the state

at 18:56

Autobiblio -graphical - The Reading List

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Autobiblio -graphical - The Reading List Image

Last year this list of classics, purportedly from the BBC, very often with the claim that someone in the BBC said, on average, people (presumably British peeps) had read only six of these. Invariably, in a classic case of self-selection, every bookish soul who read the list reported they had read three or four or a dozen times