I came across the messy dog art of M.C. Williams whilst browsing my Youtube subscriptions (I'm subscribed to tags like 'art' so I can see new art related videos as they are posted) and was completely blown away by the colour and personality of these delightful paintings.
I think the video above speaks for its self however if you'd like to see more messy dog art (and maybe even buy some) visit the artists ebay store.
Williams promotes these paintings as ideal for kids (to hang in their bedrooms I presume) but as someone who is a dog lover I'd be more than happy to place one of these artworks prominently in my home for guests to enjoy.
Dinostory: Dinosaur Sculptures made from Sand
Monday, December 24, 2007
Dinostory is an exhibition of sand sculptures, featuring dinosaurs, that my partner and I went along to view at Port Adelaide, South Australia. Unfortunately, the week before we'd experienced some very heavy, rainy weather, so many of the sculptures had been extremely damaged (very visible in my photo) whilst others had stood up to the elements slightly better.
I do hope that the creators of this exhibition, Sand Sculpting Australia, will attempt to make some repairs because at AU$9.50 for Adults, with eight severely damaged sculptures (one was almost unrecognizable), we did feel a little cheated. Whilst I understand that the weather can't be controlled it does seem like there was no plan to protect the sculptures should such weather occur. At the very least, a reduced entry fee would have been appropriate.
That aside, what remained of the sculptures, all extremely large I might add, were quite impressive and highly detailed.
Dinostory is clearly targeted at children and is intended to be somewhat educational. The dinosaur sculptures are all linked together by the idea of a story book about dinosaurs being read to a boy by his grandfather on Christmas Morning.
It's a nice idea but the story isn't really extended into the rest of the exhibits which are simply labeled with the various dinosaur names. To learn about each dinosaur requires reading of the program guide which isn't in 'kid speak' and is perhaps intended to give parents a few pointers of information that they can relate to their own children.
On the positive side, if you do have young children, then the sand sculpting activities and playground within the exhibition area make the whole thing much better value.
Despite the damage, the sculptures are still a wonderful example of this art form. If you have kids it'll still be impressive to them. However, if you don't then you may question if the entry fee is really good value for money?
Dinostory is on display at Port Adelaide (next to the lighthouse and markets) from December 8, 2007 until January 26, 2008.
If you live in Australia you probably caught this video on Channel Nine's 'i-caught' show which premiered here tonight. It's an American show (or at least the host is American) and 'Battle at Kruger' was the very first video they showed.
As far as wildlife videos go this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. This has got everything, water buffalo, lions and a crocodile all battling it out over a baby buffalo that could well be both the luckiest and unluckiest offspring on the planet.
The lesson here is that even the kings (or in this case queens) of the jungle shouldn't get between a mother water buffalo and its baby.
'Staffy' knocking at our door.
Monday, August 20, 2007
I've written before about how stray dogs seem to gravitate towards me when they're lost even though I do nothing to encourage it. Well perhaps some of my magical abilities have rubbed off onto my partner because on the weekend the most adorable, female, Staffordshire terrier came knocking at our door.
The dog could see in through our screen door so could clearly see my partner (who likes to use the online name of 'Enigma' so from now on I'll refer to her by name). Perhaps it was the 'I want a dog' vibes that she's been sending out of late? Unfortunately the two cats (Casper and Gizzy) and I outvote her so there's no chance of us getting a dog at the moment.
Anyway back to 'Staffy' (because I can't keep calling her 'the dog'). Staffy was pretty stressed about her situation but must have decided that our house looked pretty good because she really wanted to come inside and see if anyone she knew was home. Casper isn't a very sociable cat when it comes to dogs (think attack cat) so we couldn't let Staffy inside. Enigma rounded up Gizzy from my studio and brought her inside whilst I led Staffy into our back garden where she would be safe whilst we waited for the council dog catcher to come and collect her.
Staffy, as I said, was adorable. Very well trained and more than willing to follow basic commands like 'come here', 'sit' and 'stay' from anyone. After she'd explored the back garden to see if anyone she knew was there I let her come into my studio. My couch never stood a chance. Without hesitation she jumped up onto it and made herself comfortable. Stretching all the way out, back legs fully extended behind her. If you sat down next to her she would move closer to you.
I'm sure I could've kept her off the couch but both cats sleep on it and Staffy was pretty stressed. We had a while to wait for the dog catcher to come over from another call out. Staffy seemed to relax a bit once settled on the couch, after a feed and some water. She sat quietly and got some shut eye while Enigma and I ate lunch at the table I have in my studio.
Our council's dog catcher is a pretty nice bloke. I got to know him relatively well from my time as an elected member of council. When he arrived he assured us that someone would probably call for such a well looked after and friendly dog. Enigma told him the dog had a tattoo that indicated it was micro chipped - so there is every chance Staffy found her way home.
I do kind of wonder how confusing it all must have been for Staffy. Clearly she was upset because she whimpered and whined about her predicament quite a bit before she settled down. However she was quite happy to go with the dog catcher, who was able to put a lead around her neck with no objection from Staffy whatsoever. Perhaps she was glad that she was on the move again, going somewhere else to see if she could find someone she knew.
Black Cockatoos and Driving in Perth.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Road Trip Day 20: 11th June 2007
Cockatoos.
This morning, at Rose's house, I was just about to start organising my breakfast when I heard a commotion in the backyard that was familiar and clearly a flock of Cockatoos (a species of parrot) feasting on the larger trees. Familiar because I've heard this sound many times in my home town of Gawler with the white cockatoos we get there.
I wouldn't even mention it except that when I went out to have a look (because watching all the debris rain down from the tree tops being stripped by cockatoos is quite a sight) I saw this was a flock of black cockatoos with yellow patches on each side of their heads (roughly where their ears might be if you could see bird ears). I've never seen black cockatoos doing this, not in my home town, nor have I ever seen it in Western Australia.
I tried to take a few photos but the birds were too high up to get a good shot. The photo shown here is about the best I managed.
Perth Driving.
Since being back in Perth I've done just a little bit more driving in traffic than I'm used to. In seven years since I moved, the areas I used to drive quite a bit have become far busier. The concentration of roads seems to have doubled and people seem to drive much faster and more aggressively.
Maybe I'm just not used to driving in this much traffic anymore. I don't remember it ever being this busy with this many cars - even in times when you'd expect it to be less busy. Roads are everywhere, built like ribbons across the city, going over and under yet more roads as well as railway lines. In some places you can't even see the buildings for the roads.
Perth is a rapidly growing city. It seems to have become much faster. I'm not enjoying driving here. Everybody tailgates if you don't accelerate fast enough, or even if you do. There are so many cars, so many roads. It's supposed to be much better to get to places. I'm sure it is. However, to me, a landscape dominated by roads is ugly.
I don't have much to say about the big rocking horse at the Toy Factory in Gumeracha, South Australia. It's big. You can climb up to the top of the head. Great view.
I took the photo on the right whilst seated, waiting for lunch to arrive in the Toy Factories cafe. Nothing like the view of a horses as... behind to go with your lunch. Actually I chose this photo to show you because you can get the other photos I took on just about every postcard featuring the toy horse available. Thought you might like a different view.
The Toy Factory is a good place to stop for lunch. The cafe and grounds are pleasant and afterwards, wander around the 'free entry' wildlife park where you can feed the animals if you wish. The Toy shop its self is worth a look too with some fairly unique wooden toys not seen much in the age of electronic gadgets for kids.
Gorge Wildlife Park: Cuddle a Koala!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Yes you can cuddle a koala at Gorge Wildlife Park located at Cudlee Creek, South Australia. In fact here is a picture of myself, Blonde Rose, and a fairly nonplussed koala who is just happy to eat leaves whilst being passed around by his keeper. Cute huh?
Gorge Wildlife Park is much more than koalas. There is so much to see that you could easily make a day of it. We were only there for an afternoon and I managed to take 137 photos.
The whole park is very much a hands on experience. You can buy a bag of peanuts or a packet of biscuits to feed all manner of different animals ranging from Australian native animals such as kangaroos and wallabys to more exotic species like the various different types of monkeys. Beware of the Peacocks though as they are the 'seagull' of Gorge Wildlife Park, persistently following you for peanuts.
I would love to post all my photos but I'll stick with just a couple that I thought might be of interest.
The park has a surprising number of albino animals, particularly of Australian wildlife. Pictured here is possibly an albino kangaroo in the foreground and two albino wallabies in the background (though feel free to correct me).
Other albino animals I saw included peacocks, a magpie, a wombat (though technically he was actually cream) and even the chairs and tables in the kiosk were white!
Pictured below are a whole group of fruit bats. These were a highlight because I'd never seen these up this close before. Though you do have to be careful being this close as they have a tendency to randomly urinate in no particular direction. Seemingly no regard for hitting other fruit bats or people viewing with their spray.
This park is a great experience all round. I've never been a big fan of wildlife parks but I quite enjoyed wandering around this one. Perhaps it you're in the region you should stop by too.
Today I thought I'd post something funny so I printed out a picture of a clown, put it in an envelope and mailed it to Albakerky. Not that I know anyone in Albakerky. I just addressed it 'To Whom it may concern' - let them work it out.
I was feeding some penguins from a park bench in the middle of a desert when it occurred to me that a park bench in the middle of a desert is quite a rare occurrence. When I mentioned this to the eyeball on a stick, sitting beside me, it gave me a blank stare, as if to say "I'm trying not to be seen with you, stop forcing me to acknowledge your existence." Eyeballs can be like that.
If you happen to be the owner of the small dog barking in the house next door to mine can you please come home. Your dog isn't cute. In fact I think it's just a little inadequate without some dopey person to keep it company. Get a dog sitter. The dog would be so much quieter with someone sitting on it.
Well if you've read this far you'll probably be wondering why this post makes little sense and seems some what random. Let's not get into psychoanalysis or try to search for deeper issues.
Just put it all down to a brain fart. Normal service will continue as soon as the wooden duck.
The 2007 Gawler Horse Festival.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Gawler Horse Festival is a Biennial Event held in Gawler, South Australia, over four days in April. This year it was April 12-15, 2007. I attended the event on the Saturday where I spent some time taking photos and video of the Show Jumping Finals.
The image above is probably one of the best I took on the day that featured, what I feel, is a really dramatic sky. The clouds kept the day cool and, whilst it looked like it might rain, it didn't. You can buy the above image as a print from Red Bubble.
The whole event over four days features many different horse related competitions and demonstrations with riders from around the world including; Show jumping, Natural Horsemanship, Carriage Driving, Show horses, Australian Stock Horses, Mini horse and ponies, Vaulting and more. Below I've posted some video I took of the last few runs of the SA Senior State Show Jumping Championship.
I apologize in advance for not knowing who the riders are. If you happen to know feel free to add a comment below. I wasn't really there for the events other than it was a great opportunity to photograph horses in action. However the video gives you some idea of what it was like from a spectators point of view (minus sound, which my little digicam doesn't record - hence the song to keep your ears amused).
The final day is Gawler Cup Day, where punters can place a bet on the races. If you're into horse racing then this day is worth attending (especially if you can score an invite into the sponsors marquee - as I did the first year the event was run).
As you can probably tell, I'm not really a big horse fan but, with Gawler becoming something of the horse capital of Australia with this event, it's almost expected that you'll go along for at least one day. If you are a horse fan mark this on your calendar of events in two years time!
I am South Australian Artist, 'TET' or 'The Extraordinary Tourist'. Read about things that interest me, particularly art, social commentary, humour and life observations. Please feel free to leave a comment by clicking the 'Comments' link at the bottom of each entry.
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