Well I did end up getting out to paint the walls. Also got to ‘Maniac Mansion’ poster show by the ‘Loser Unit’ collective. I like talking to younger artists at the moment especially graffiti/street art types just to provide a constructive voice in a scene that seems set on destructive attitudes. There is a lot of hype around hardcore and what it means to be hardcore. That is always easy to hype and make legendary whereas creative attitudes can be harder to promote unless they to fit a popular mould. So I have been working with guys from older hardcore scenes and emerging artists and trying to promote some better attitudes and explaining myself as well. It is good because most people want to hear it. One guy couldn’t get spray and I said just use house paint and use what you can afford. Why use spray if you can only steal it, if you can get away with it that is fine but use whatever you can. I used to steal spray paint when I was younger but eventually started looking in open garages for scrap cans that nobody was ever going to use anyway. There are always ways and the answer is usually looking you right in the face. The guy remembered he had a whole bucket of house paint, please use it!

 

It is interesting that there isn’t always time but there is usually the right time. Once I get a few things out of the way I will need to focus on music for a spell as I want to see what I can set up for live recording. It is pretty basic, initially I was going to get a multi track mixer but didn’t have the money for it. Then I doctored some existing hardware which had been for music playback or entertainment. I may need to see what the limitations are and if it is isn’t workable I can currently afford the multi track mixer. This has been brewing for months and I really need to solve a few issues. Issues like having an exhibition somewhere…somehow.

It would be nice to have a gallery for a bit of support but it is hard to see what will work. Otherwise there are galleries for hire and some can be good for a crowd but they don’t always get serious collectors or crowds either unless you are popular. Some of these galleries don’t really want serious art types around anyway as they have niche artists and maybe are not about main art trends. Well I will need to actually get to some shows and that is not easy for me as I am a single dad. My ex is kind of unreliable and normally doesn’t care to cover for me. I am it basically.

I don’t even have the time to feel sorry for myself and in the next few years I won’t really know what to do with myself, because I will most likely have all the time in the world as the teens become adults.

Back to music, I want to start solving that after this weekends painting is over. With the painting I need to just do it while I have the opportunity because I won’t have a prominent spot like that to myself for a while. Then it is all about music.

Really enjoyed painting the mural in Manly, it was great to be involved. I have a large aerosol piece on the cards possibly for the weekend. It is so hard to commit because there are a few variables but I am confident it will get off the ground. My ideas are always vague though I had references and a layout with some sketches for the wall but it is hard to say what will look right except on the day. It is really all about what is working and generally that is a feel thing with my own work. It is a large wall and I can’t necessarily get as high as I want but also the work could be a temporary piece. There isn’t any pressure and I am curious to see how I will solve a wall like that on my own. It is easy with another person because you can use their work as an anchor and work around it. I have done big walls before and some of my solutions were to break the style up into two distinct halves.

Initially I didn’t want to do a graffiti piece and just rely on the cartoons but a piece may help centre the wall. Once again it is all about where my head is at on the day. I want some references but I want a lot of flexibility and just make stuff up. I know technically how I want to approach it as I want to draw it up and throw colour around fairly loosely as I start to add detail and tighten it up. I wish I was a little more focused on some kind of detail but I can’t necessarily at this point see a lot though I kind of know once I do the initial drawing the pieces will fit together. Well I will just have to see if I can get it done.

I recently mentioned on social media the issue with graffiti artists vandalising murals or pattern work. The opinion is the graffiti artists are disenfranchised by the push of street art and public murals. What I don’t understand is how some other people or groups success guarantees your own victimhood. If you measure yourself by other peoples ideas of success you will leave yourself lacking in most regards. You can’t have everything and why would you want it? Do you think I want to deal with designers and curators agonising over a street mural? I want to paint what I want to paint on the streets and even if I have to paint drains at least I can take a photo and share it. What I don’t get is how these graffiti artists want to be hardcore but are worried about legal walls or what goes on them. Who cares!

When I was doing throw ups on trains I couldn’t have cared less who was doing a mural I just didn’t care. Basically I was doing my own thing. People are constantly comparing themselves against the wealthy or institutionalised types. Who cares! What happened to just doing whatever you do regardless of Joe Blows various successes.