Wayfarer 2011
The following three paintings were made early in 2011, with oil on canvas. They each measure 1520x1220mm.
They depict the figure of the the journeyman artist, made with a vague memory of a photo I had seen of Cezanne setting out on a plein air painting excursion.
I was inspired by the notion of a body journeying into the realm of the spirit, yet weighted down by materiality.
A lonely dirt road extends from the dreaming mind of a forlorn ghostly form.
The artist-figure embarks upon this path, weighted down by the impossible burden of the equipment he will need to sustain himself and document his voyage.
Although his quest draws him towards transcendence, his steps are staggered, his gear is precarious, and at some stage every aspect of his being will need mending.
Various smaller scale drawings were made in support of this theme.
The ungainly form of the painter moving across the landscape was initially sourced from a drawing I made on a walk through the Tanami Desert a few years earlier. My own shadow took on a heightened presence throughout the days spent tramping, so that it seemed like a great disembodied puppet rooted to my feet.
