“Hand Plant” Oil on ACP
24” x 18”
AVAILABLE IN ORIGINALS FOR SALE
When we were kids back in the Seventies, like kids of today we were always looking for the next thing, the latest craze, something to test out your youthful daredevil skills on.
News and exposure came a little slower then but even in the outback country towns a movement like skateboarding eventually made its way to the youth!!
The boards and purpose built skate parks are a far cry from the basic setups we had, even in the fanciest hangouts then.
Roads , supermarket car parks, school grounds, whatever had a smooth surface was the go.
No helmets, padding, guards, wooden boards etc...scary shit.
For me, just one footing along was a test, let alone doing tricks.
We saw California kids on tv and movies, doing amazing things and having the coolest time, they had cool clothes, great music and lived in what seemed like an endless summer. I never forgot those times and images, when you hit the ground skating it hurt... sometimes really bad!!
So when you see the guys and girls of today performing the aerial stunts they do you can only be amazed, because if they get it wrong, that shit hurts!!
This is a bit of a tribute to those times and the skaters of today, hand planting... holy shit!!
Cheers
“High Wire”
Oil on canvas
PRINTS AVAILABLE
18” x 26”
I have wanted to do a female figurative piece for awhile now, wanted to do something that would capture some of the spirit of women.
Like most men, the women in my life have all had different personalities, but I think they all had similar strengths.
My nans, my mum, Trish my wife, my sister and my friends have all influenced me and I have seen their qualities shine through many times.
This painting was inspired by all these women, especially Trish and her mates who were some of the first women working in the male dominated arena of the mining industry. I worked with Trish and many of these women over the years, and still do. They were clever, resilient, reliable, always a pleasure to work with and they went hard.
Aside from being moms, wives, sisters they hold their own in any situation.
So this is the first image I have come up with to try and portray some of this qualities!!
“Bloke in a bar”
PRINTS AVAILABLE
Oil on canvas
500mm x 250mm
My son Liam sent me a T-shirt for my Birthday… it had Terry Lamb on it, the word BLOKE,and was printed white and blue, due to the fact I’m a mad NSW fan in State of Origin!!!
I had met Terry Lamb once l, when a mate of mine was playing for the Bulldogs, they had won the Grand final the year before and were a great bunch of guys.
Liam told me the T-shirt was part of the Bloke in a Bar franchise, dudes who do a podcast on sports stories, characters and associated stuff like punting… The Punters and Dribblers!!
They market their own beer, a nice drop too, and they are as funny as, and pretty much on the money, with a lot of current league identities linked with them, all great stuff.
Liam was after something for his Bar, decoration so I did this painting of his Punters and Dribblers hat, his wallet and keys …and added a Baa Baa (Terry Lamb)pic, and frame to set it off!!
He loved it, so get on board
“Bing”
oil on canvas
500mm x 800mm
I played and watched cricket all my life, I was a reasonable fast bowler back in the day and opened the bowling for a team called ‘Backwater’ in a little town called Narromine, if your a cricket ‘Tragic’ this will mean something to you,!
When I got back into painting I did a heap of cricket paintings of my favorite players, this one is of Brett Lee, he represented Australia for many years and sending down 150kph rockets. To face a cricket ball at this pace from 22 yards would be a very scary experience indeed
I gave it to a mate whose wife was a huge Brett Lee fan( lot of ladies were) and he gave it to her for her birthday, she reckons best present she ever got and the next best thing to the real thing!!
Cheers to all the cricket fans
“The Don”
8” x “10
Oil ACP
My No.3, the Don!!,
What can I say, the man is the standard that all batsmen are compared to. His efforts and batting feats captured the heart and imagination of a country in a time of great upheaval.
The whole cricket world was in awe of his talent, his ongoing legacy has seen Australian cricket prosper and at times conquer all comers.
I remember as a boy seeing old film of him practicing hitting a golf ball up against a tank stand using a cricket stump!!
He is not my Captain but undeniably the greatest batsman in the side and a wonderful captain as well.
Coming in at first drop, batting with one of the openers I picked, would give any bowling attack a whole bucket of concern
“Master Blaster”
Oil on ACP
8” x 10”
My No.4, Viv Richards, the Master Blaster!! my favorite cricketer of all, the coolest cricketer of all time!!
I watched him play in the 70’s, amazing, I saw him pick up a ball on the boundary at the SCG, and in one movement threw it flat straight over the stumps and never lost his stride
When he came out to bat everyone was so nervous but smiling because they new the ‘man’ was at the crease and he didn’t disappoint.
Some said he was arrogant, but it looked to me when he hit the ball and didn’t bother running he knew, as did everybody, that it would crash into the fence or go clean over it!!
The King if the Caribbean, he never forgot his humble beginnings and did everything he could to repay the people who helped him achieve his goals!
What a legend
“Gilly”
Oil on ACP
10” x 8”
My No.7 and Wicket Keeper!!
I loved Rodney Marsh back in the 70’s and early 80’s, watched him keep to Lillee and Thompson so he was almost the walk up for wicket keeper in my side... but then I watched Adam Gilchrist completely re-define the role of keeper in modern cricket, his figures batting anywhere are outstanding and his glovemanship was second to none.
I lost count of the number of times he turned a game on its head and either win the game or set it up for the Aussies!!
He always showed the utmost in sportsmanship, more than once walking when he wasn’t given out, loved and admired across the world and a great face of such character, really fun to paint.
“Warnie”
Oil on ACP
10” x 8”
My No. 8, first man up in my bowling lineup, Shane Warne.
The best spinner ever, leggie or offie, what a legend!!
Cricketer, poker player, partner of superstars, what a character.
The cricket world turned in its axis the day Warnie bowled Mike Gatting at Old Trafford, during the 1st Test in 1993.
Warne had played 11 tests before that day,and there were strong indications that his bowling would be something special. Pretty much from that day on spin bowling took on a whole new emphasis, no longer the guys who gave the pace bowlers a spell and jagged a couple of wickets, no longer the quickest way for a batsman to get from 60 to 100, as famously quoted by Ian Chappell
He stayed true to his character and nature, which I think was a major factor in his success but may have impeded his chances to captain his country as his cricket knowledge is second to few!!
I painted this reference because I thought it captured a bit of that character
“The boy from Narromine “
Oil on ACP
10” x 8”
My No. 9, Glenn McGrath, first of my pace attack, one of the best bowlers of all time, no question!!
Being a Narromine boy he was an easy pick, in the late 70’when I was 19 or 20 I opened the bowling for a team called Backwater, a team in the local Narromine comp with a long and proud history, the senior players were experienced and highly regarded in country cricket. As a bowler they hammered you about bowling line and length, and on off stump, a technique that paid dividends.
10 or so years later Glenn, being a farm boy from that area, played for the same team, and they didn’t think he was good enough,
They were a bit up themselves, probably thought he would show them up!!
Anyway he played a social game in Parkes, NSW, got noticed by Steve Rixon and headed to the big smoke, and the rest is history. Backwaters loss Australia’s gain
“Smithy”
Oil on ACP
8” x 10”
My No.2, second opener, Steve Smith, a legend and possibly one of the best batsman since Bradman, and the records are starting to show that!!
He often comes in an over or two after the first ball is bowled and very rarely falters against the opening quicks!
I found when looking for a reference pic that he looked different in every one, like his batting and personality a bit of an enigma.
I tried to capture this in the style and technique of his portrait.
He and Virat Kholi attended the Australian cricket Academy together as young fellas and are close friends, as evidenced by Kholi going up to the crowd in the latest test series and asking them to respect his friend, a gesture that was appreciated greatly by Smithy!!
“ King Kholi”
Oil on ACP
10” x 8”
I wanted to paint a series of small, quick portraits to experiment, loosen up and improve my portrait painting skills. Limiting the time to finish each one to a couple of sittings was a challenge but a good way to trust my eye and process.
I decided to pick my ultimate cricket team, for cricket fans this is a challenge, everyone has an opinion, for non fans , probably as boring as.
Here is my No.1, Virat Kholi, facing the first ball, if he lasts the first 2 overs he’ll hit 100!!
Had to be in there somewhere so opening is it
“ Jeffrey and DK”
Oil on ACP
16” x 10”
My No.10 and 11, Lillee and Thompson, arguably the best opening attack of all time!!
I watched Jeff Thompson in his prime at the SCG, side on, at pitch level...he ran in, slung the ball, the batsmen aimlessly waved his bat, and the ball hits Rodney Marshe’s gloves,with an audible crack 20 meters back,at full leap and at full stretch!! I didn’t even see the ball... 160kph, unreal.
They destroyed the poms, crashed and bashed a young West Indies side,that included a young Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd and other greats.
After that, Clive Lloyd went back to the West Indies and with Richards searched the Caribbean for raw big super fast bowlers, then honed them into a combo that could match Lillee and Thommo... they did, went on to dominate world cricket for the next 20 years!!
And Dennis Lillee, the best bowler I have ever seen, a cliche, but Poetry in Motion, as a young cricketer all I wanted to do is bowl like Dennis, he literally wrote the book on fast bowling, his rhythm was amazing. After coming back from a predicted early career ending back injury, he redesigned his bowling action and came back to be the premier fast bowler for years!!
I painted the boys together, what a pair, golden years of cricket !!
“Chappelli”
Oil on ACP
8” x 10”
My No.5 and Captain, Ian Chappell.
Love him or hate,him he’s the dude to captain my ultimate team.
There were so many good captains Alan Border, Ponting, Taylor, Steve Waugh,... but all of em looked up to the guy I picked, he was one of the few captains who had a 3/1 win ratio and batting at #3 hit 35 50+ scores, second only to Ponting, Australia had lost 9 tests straight when he took over, then won the next 5!!took no shit, anyone who played for him would walk into a fire if he asked...and back in the 70’s I thought he was as cool as!!
He and Kerry Packer changed the face of cricket forever, and cricketers pay packets, they say all cricketers should bow when Ian Chappell walks in the room!!
“Beefy”
Oil on ACP
8” x 10”
My No.6 and all rounder, Ian Botham!
6 foot 2”, 100 odd kg of cricketing genius. Bat, bowl, field, captain and generally shit stir and win, this man had it all.
In 1981 I watched Beefy single handily destroy the Aussies in the 4th Test. The Aussies needed 151 to win the match and were 5 for 105, looking to do it easy, then Botham took 5 wickets for 1 run off 28 balls, couldn’t believe it, and didn’t he give it to the Aussies.
He is a real larrikan and hard as it is to say one of the greatest all rounders of all time!!
He and Viv Richards were best mates and played together for years at Somerset!