rewards

When I travel I like to use the opportunity to start new work that I do in my hotels at night rather than trying to watch foreign television programs. I do this in small books of about 20 pages I make specially to fit in my backpack together with a very basic collection of drawing materials. 

"Re-Wards" is the latest of one of these books which I work back into once I get home.

The subject matter is often my new environment, the airport, the plane, people I meet anything that I find interesting or amusing.

On our last trip to Vietnam, I noticed quite a large group of ladies at the airport in Brisbane who all seemed to know each other and looked alike although not in a normal uniform but clothes that were of a similar type. They all appeared to be well "hoisted".
Later when we picked up more passengers in Sydney, more of these ladies joined the group and I assumed they were maybe going to a conference. My curiousity got the better of me and while in the queue for Customs I started a conversation with one of them.
They were all going to Vietnam as a reward for the excellent sales work they had done for a company and were off for an extended week-end of pampering and shopping at the company's expense. They were as high as kites in a cyclone.

The  company specialised in custom fitted lingerie which the ladies organised  to sell at parties. As the young lady told me, "think of us as ladies selling Tupperware for the Titties". 

Well.... had to start a new book that night.

Naturally, I did stray away from this particular subject but it was how the book started. I'll post a few more interesting drawings for you to ponder.

Who would have thought the process was so simple?

a pencil in every knapsack

cover

I have just completed another little book of travel drawings and  hope you  enjoy some of the new media (linseed oil, chinagraph pencil and other mixed media) and abstract compositions.

"whispers"

For quite a while I have been drawing or making some work almost every day, trying hard to be more of a maker or contributor than consumer. It has become so much of a lifestyle habit that this also applies when I go on holidays somewhere. These works are always coloured by the places we visit and I usually make a little book to accomodate them as well as a diary. It makes them easier to manage in the limited space that travelling usually demands. Here are a few from a recent most enjoyable trip to Adelaide and environs. The soft wine soaked "whisper" bubbles were the result.

japanese rain

mountain mist

Just back from Japan for a week but still have not downloaded my numerous photos so perhaps a look at a couple of pages of my visual diary will give you some idea of what I got up to. There were two typhoons of the coast while we were there so we had some rainy weather and mist in the mountains and I'm so glad. I usually work on my diaries every night even when I'm away but of course with a smaller range of materials. Most of my diary work is somewhat more design oriented but in these two, I tried to get some sense of the misty atmosphere.

tokyo to nagano

Most of my other little mixed media memories are more graphic like these:

With all the bits of maps, tickets and other ephemera from our trip, I will continue to mine my memories and make inter-related little works for quite a while before taking off again for more new experiences. I'll post a few photos next post but probably not typical travel shots.

travel = postcards

Just playing with using some old travel photos to make a few postcards(from random places in my memory) to send my friends.