And just because I couldn't figure out how to add these couple in the last post..

The redoubtable Ros & Rob Murray convincing Halley to buy in bulk.

Lindsay wonders when the boy will hod his blether.

OH GOD, JF CAN SEE FOREVER! Or it's just lockjaw, like he said.

Mr J. Burnside, lead astray by Marina & Nadia.

And we're back..

Esther, Mark & JB hatch a cunning plan. JF remains skeptical.

What a massive cock. Mark & Gus can't face it.

Two rock gods, just hangin.

That was meant to be a short blog break while I got organised so naturally its now about 2 months since the last entry.. and, happily, the exhibition has opened! Last Friday night. Phew. And it seemed to go pretty well - a good turnout of fine Melbourne locals plus Mum, Dad & sister Nic, the occasional smile at the stuff on the walls, one sale & plenty of booze. Sweet. Nic had been in town the week leading up & was a huge help - so good to have an experienced fine artist close at hand! She ran around town picking things up, gave the Officeworks photocopiers a workout, primed canvases, talked to gallery people, sent emails.. generally did all manner of beyond-the-call stuff & was indispensable. In short, she rules. That's really what made it come together in the end - very generous people helping me out. Does that sound like The Waltons? Bah! It's still true. (But don't get me wrong, yes, The Waltons suck.) Flatmate Angus had good advice, quality picture-reference hunting skills & top stationary provisions, Kristin Guley trusted me with her car, John Foulkes was a tiptop dealer of Japanese Black Black caffeine chewing gum, and family & friends were always encouraging or smacking me back into shape when I was ready to quit. What a top bunch. Thanks to you all. I'll put some details in later on individual works, techniques used and various fiasco's in their making, but for now here's just a few pics from the opening.

The Notpepsi Challenge.

So here's the thing. For the best part of the last decade I've not been finishing art at what you'd call speed. Fifteen years ago I worked as an illustrator, but the rise of the machines put a lot of pen-to-paper luddites like me in the shade. Work slowed down, I tried animation for a while, everyday things piled up & got in the way.. I still love making pictures, but time off can make you rusty - last year I spent probably nine months working on a friends idea for a small tattoo of a steampunk airship. Sure, I'm now better informed about hot air balloon construction, boat design, steam engines and the significance of the Roman goddess Minerva, and also he seems happy with the result, but you wouldn't want to have held your breath. Basically, time's a wastin. So, how to get finishing things with a little more vim?
How about booking an exhibition with a deadline tighter than anything I've ever worked to in my life? How about a deadline of ONE FINISHED WORK EVERY WEEK? That is the challenge. I've got 10 weeks.
Yeah. This is gonna work.