November 9, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

54.The Place of the Ground Frog (All Roads lead to Mallala, part 2)

Unlike this painting, this little country town is actually rather quiet with only a population of 500 and according to Wikipedia the name is aboriginal for ‘madlola’ which means ‘place of the ground frog’ , not that I saw anymore frogs there than anywhere else,  but maybe that’s how come I picked up the frog inspiration because I do like to paint them, for you who are familiar with my work.  Below are two different versions of the painting “All Roads Lead to Mallala”.

At various times in the time we lived in Mallala, there actually were both cows, sheep and runaway horses that raced through the streets,  my artistic licence is just that they did not all do it at the same time!

The yellow school bus you see is one that stopped outside our church and took Kai the 10 km in to the local primary school.

A lovely little country school with nice teachers and principal, as a matter of fact the first time I met the principal he was dressed up from head to toe in a purple monster suit, a friendly monster I should add, being the Purple people Eater on a “school dress up day”.

To me that was quite amazing, coming from Sweden where people were more stiff and formal and you would never on your life catch the principal in a dress up costume (well not during office hours anyway, I am sure they have their scandals too just like the British and their pollies in suspender belts and the like.)

The pub on the right is where “Smokey the Chip eating sheep” was raised, and the white ute in the top picture was Bryan’s car that Smokey came home in, (if you missed that story it may be worth a look, number 11. In the blog archive )

This pub has been owned and run by several different owners and continues to thrive, now perhaps the most popular it has ever been with delicious meals and often a band rocking the night away, and it is a popular spot for my daughter and her friends.

Mallala is quite famous in its own right for its Motor Sport Park which regularly hosts national and international car racing.

The Royal Australian Air force originally established their base there in 1939 where they used to train their pilots until they closed down in 1960 which is where the car racing now takes place.

With the Air force in mind here is a quote by Toni Morrison (writer) that I like.

“Wanna  fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”.

Till next time,

Love Marie xx

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October 29, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

52. All Roads lead to Mallala

That is the name of this painting and when we first moved out to the country from the big “smoke” this is where we moved to, well nearly, 10 km from here.

We lived in an old church which had been converted into a 2 story house, surrounded by paddocks and with a graveyard over the back fence.

A lot of people would comment that we were brave to live there, but even though I am a scary cat in other aspects the graveyard never affected me, it was a serene and peaceful place.

We were told when we bought the place that it was no longer in use, so I must say that once when we arrived home and there was a fresh grave there it was a little confronting, lol.

But still no ghosts or any funny goings -on, the only funny business came from our dogs at the time Spike and Saba and the rabbits that lived under the graves.

Spike our small terrier used to chase them down the rabbit hole and I would be beside myself wondering if she would come out alive, or get stuck there forever, or goodness gracious- bring up a bone that did not belong to a rabbit!

Mallala was our first taste of country life and we were welcomed to the district with open arms and met such a lot of nice people, some of whom we count as our best friends even today 20 something years later.

However there was one less than friendly person there, who shall remain nameless lol.  In any case this woman was not from the district but opened a video hire outlet there in conjunction with the local takeaway.

She was grumpy as, heaven forbid you should bring a video in a minute after the allotted time, or even worse actually had faulty video that you could not watch and then complain about it.

It would be like facing the Gestapo; you would tremble at the thought of bringing the video back and telling her about it.  Of course she would insist it was your fault and that you deliberately broke the video and you better pay up or else.

Lol luckily this particular woman did not last long in this business.  Funny don’t you think when people run their own business and have a shop front and then have not learned to be friendly to their customers, they do not realize that repeat business comes not only from the product they sell but also from their demeanour too.(to be continued)

Here is a quote from Victor Hugo (writer)

“Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters”

Till next time,

Love Marie xx

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October 13, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by mariejon

49. By the Seaside

As it happens we should just have stayed at the farm, because four days after we moved to the seaside the seaside actually came to the farm would you believe!

One of the biggest down pours in history at Whitwarta where we lived and according to the locals the water levels were at record heights!

The river of course broke its banks and the new owners of our farm house had the water lapping very close to the front door.  Several paddocks were completely submerged and only the top of the fences showed.  The water pipe for the house was ripped out by the water as was the water meter.

This painting shows a country scene and was inspired by the country life, and as the new family that has moved in has six children under ten, it can easily be them with their lovely mum and dad, Janette and Kirk (apart from the hair colours!)

The new owners had a wonderful  C’est la vie attitude and took it all in their stride, called us up to find out where the water pipe that connects to the house was located and so on.  They said it was a great way to meet the neighbours, and everyone rallied around and helped them lay a temporary water pipe down the drive way for the time being.

I think the river flooded as a greeting for them, as it did the same for us many years ago just 3 or so weeks after we moved in.

I must say it is spectacular to watch and it brings new life to the area and lots of seabirds and little creatures.  The frogs which hibernate during winter and seem to disappear totally during the drought years, just magically come back to life and their croaking is something I never tired of listening too.

My father made a little wooden dingy for the kids when they were little and they used to take great delight at rowing in the river, although they did have to wait until the water had subsided considerably as during the peak, it is a torrent of water collecting everything in its path.

Great big logs and drums and a tyre or two have been spotted winding their way down, and heaven forbid that you should fall in, even the strongest swimmer would have a hard time getting to safety.

When the river dries out again it is like Christmas to walk down in the riverbed and see what the water brought this time.

Usually lots of logs and branches get caught up in some tree roots snag and look just like huge beavers nests, and that’s what we used to call them.

The local wildlife would take up residence there and the beaver’s nests would cater for foxes, rabbits, lizards and snakes, all very exciting for little children and dogs.

So to the new owners of the farm, the Taylors,( a more perfect family we could not think of to take over this house), we wish you all the best and hope your time in the this new home will be as happy and wonderful as it was for us.

I think this motto fits well in here said by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (writer)

“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

Till next time,

Love Marie xx

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September 5, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

42. All That Packing ..mmm Better have a Holiday

Now who was the idiot that thought that would be a good idea!!!!  Fourteen days in Bali sounds nice, yea right!  Mmm…might have been moi ! (well Bali was fantastic, it was the aftermath that sucked! Lol)

You see the timing of this little holiday really sucks but it worked out this way as we had our house on the market for a while and decided to live our lives as we always do regardless.

We had no idea that the week after sunning ourselves in Bali (at the time of booking the holiday) we would also have to move the entire contents of the previous 17 years of our lives out of our huge farm house. We tried to change the settlement date but had to work in with the new owners,   so for the first part of the holiday we were feeling  decidedly STRESSED, so much to do and so little time!

Not only did we have to shift all our stuff but also all the animals we own, birds and cats as this painting shows and also the dogs too.

I suppose I only have myself to blame with the timing of this but I couldn’t help but laugh when a comedian friend of mine Rodney Gregory (check him out on Youtube here) said: “Good luck with shifting, great idea to go away in the middle of it??”  I might try that, we are shifting in about 3 weeks, can hardly sleep in anticipation”.

There is no way in words to describe, what a terrible and stressful time we had for that last week at the farm,  as we sorted, gave away, threw away, burned, packed, dusted, scrubbed and cleaned and I thought it would never end.

As the settlement deadline loomed closer and closer we were 5 people working our fingers to the bones, including our cleaning lady and the window cleaning guy and my baby boy.(here is the window cleaning guy, Craig as he has appeared in a previous artwork)

Of course we could have hired removalists, however as we were downgrading and only taking half of our belongings we actually had to go through everything ourselves anyway.  We had of course started packing before we went away but we are talking 17 years of accumulated stuff.

We also have many objects of value and sentiment, however I cannot understand why I agonize so much about throwing away stray bits of paper and ornaments with a chip in it and clothes that are out of fashion, never mind the perfectly good rubber bands and paperclips and the like.

Why do I think it will all come in handy one day lol! Someone SAVE me and just put it all in a big skip!

For the last 2 nights Bryan and I only got 3 hours sleep each night, the pace was that frantic that I’m surprised we didn’t have heart attacks so I can only deduct from that our hearts are probably quite healthy!  We still managed to go over the time limit by 2 and a half hours but the new owners were very gracious and did not complain.

So here are some wise words from Ernest Hemingway (writer) that I think fit well here.

“Never confuse movement with action.”

Till next time,

Love Marie xx

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September 1, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

41. Collecting Cackleberries and Thank you Balaklava

(continuing blog from Tree Change to Sea Change , see story below)

There are other things we will miss very much and appreciate about living in the country too.  In this painting called “Collecting Cackleberries” we are of course collecting the eggs, the four of us and every one of our chooks had names, boy they were hard to remember!

Can you imagine sometimes I wrote birthdays cards with everyone of the chooks mentioned by name and not to forget the ducks, parrots cats, dogs and horses, cows and sheep.

That soon wore thin and now only us and the dogs names gets on the cards!

We were so lucky to have been made so welcome in this little town that is so supportive of the arts as well.

They have the cutest art gallery which used to be the Courthouse, entirely staffed by volunteers where they have exhibitions all year round and also run an art competition called the Balco awards, with entries from artists far and wide, which I have been lucky enough to have won the major price one time and minor prizes quite often.

The whole town have come out in support for the different art projects and sculptures and they have a first class theatre group called the Balaklava Community Arts.

They put on at least one major show each year such as Oliver, Wizard of Oz and Jesus Christ Superstar, with amateur actors some whom could get a professional gig if they wanted to pursue it further.   It is also so endearing to see the local teachers, shopkeepers and people around town strutting their stuff on the stage!

Our children did most of their schooling here and I think they were very lucky to be able to go to a small country school that was still able to provide nearly all the facilities and support that you get in the city.

However what we valued so much was the personal attention and interest the kids got both from the school and sporting organizations but also from the local community.  Smiling faces and caring people who look out for one another that is something that we will really miss.

I am happy too, that we had a chance to experience the farming life (although we had a share farmer do all the heavy work) we understand now the changing of the seasons and the heartbreak when the rain does not fall and you watch your crop whittle and die on the paddock.   I get it now when the farmers complain when the drought sets in and the animals have little to eat, and the devastation when your animals contract a disease, when you have done everything in your power and there is nothing else that you can do.

Whenever I miss you Balaklava, I will try to think of the things I did not care for; such as the flies and dust and the scorching hot days when you can’t even take a breath without burning your oesophagus in 47 degree Celsius heat.

But I bet you my thoughts will centre on the laughter of the kids playing and running around our big farm house and yard, how they were chasing after chooks and dogs, and their surprised faces when the rooster turned around and chased them.

How can I forget riding our beautiful horses around the paddocks, rugging, feeding them together with the kids and then taking walks along the river on a moonlit night and seeing the starry sky, so chockablock full of bright stars like nothing would ever prepare you for?

So THANK YOU BALAKLAVA you will be forever in our hearts.

I will have to remember in the coming days this saying by Boethius (statesman and Philosopher)

“Nothing is miserable unless you think it is so”

Till next time,

Love Marie xx                                                                                 (c)

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August 26, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

40. Tree Change for a Sea Change

This painting is one I painted early on in my career (which sold in America) which was  inspired by our new life on the farm, and what a lovely time it has been too.

Here we are unloading the truck with the dairy cows that we had on agistment each summer, they actually came on foot so the red truck is artistic licence.

We have lived here for the last 17 years and loved every minute of  it, if  it wasn’t for the fact that our children both now need to live in the city and find it hard to work such long hours and study at uni at the same time we would probably never have thought about leaving the country.

Now however it has finally happened and we don’t know whether to be happy or sad about the next chapter of our lives by the sea and with only 30 minutes to the city centre.

To wake up to the twitter of little birds and loud screeching of Galahs and Corellas is something that we will miss (oh maybe not the screeching bit, lol)

Other things we will miss is the serene 40 minute river walk on our own property that we do each morning, often seeing the kangaroo who lives part time in our paddock and also ducks and other river birds that visit from far flung places.

The possum who comes to visit us at night looking for an apple or some bread, a wild animal who reaches out and grabs the treats with his little hands so trusting that we won’t harm him (we won’t miss the little brown pellets he leaves behind though lol)

Our two remaining horses Pringles and Zipper, miniature ponies, have already found a wonderful place to live, with rolling hills and lovely people who spoil them with treats.

I will sorely miss the open fires, the rain on the iron roof, the smell of the freshly cut lawns and rain, the peace and quiet and not a neighbour in sight.  Not to mention; our permanent waterhole and the river when it flows and the whole area rebirths with new life and the trees full of figs, apricots and oranges.

Our 2 dogs and the birds will be coming with us and also Milo the cat,  however we are going to have to plead our case with the new owners for Ozzy (yes named after Ozzy Osborne) our other cat, as he never took to being inside and likes roaming the country side.  I must say that it is very rarely that we find a bird eaten, he is however quite the Mouser so he earns his keep so to speak, and with the current mouse plague that is quite an asset.

This saying by Titus Livy (Historian) fits well here I think.

“In difficult and hopeless situations the boldest plans are the safest.”

Till Next time.

Love Marie                                        (c)

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May 2, 2010 in Country Life, Current Blog by Marie

11. “SMOKEY” The Chip eating sheep

As a lot of you know by now we live on a farm, although recently we have reduced said farm’s acreage substantially.  However it is and has been a wonderful place to live and for our children to grow up on, and with so many tales to tell.  Here is a painting which sold in America which pictures the country side here, not quite our farm but a romantic view of it.  What it does show is the White Ute and that is what this story is all about.

One of our friends had a sheep called Smokey, not your normal type of sheep, no this one was the potato chip eating variety, that had been hand raised in a Hotel, all you had to do was to rattle a chip packet and Smokey would come running and nearly bowl you over whilst licking her lips.  The Publican and his wife were now moving away, the cute but by now Big sheep was looking for a new home.  Yep and that was us, so Bryan dear hubby of mine thought he would swing past said friend and pick Smokey up.

He rolled up in his White ute and now with a bit of blokey discussion back and forth they decided that the only way they could transport this sheep (as he was you know, more like a family member than a sheep) in the FRONT Seat of the ute.

Yep that’s right, that’s where Smokey sat for the 25 minute drive from Mallala to Balaklava.  Oh did I forget to tell you, of course he had his seat belt done up, that’s the road rules you know.

So here is little wifey-poo patiently waiting for hubby and sheep to arrive home, you know on the back of the ute like, and I cannot tell you of the fright I got when they arrived home late after dark and I looked into the passenger window and saw this very strange creature sitting there looking at me, sitting on her bum mind you, upright with the seatbelt across her and looking out the window.

Crazy men, I just thank the lucky stars that she sat perfectly still the entire trip cause otherwise neither of them would probably have made it home that night. Lol

Here is some more of the wit and wisdom of Oscar Wilde:

“I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability”

I hope you will come and visit me again, till next time.

Love Marie                                                                (c)

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