ART BY COWBOY'S CREATIVE CUD

It is months ago that I first commenced this project and in spite of the fact other work has taken up a lot of my time, it still feels that a hell of a lot of work and time has gone into what I thought might be a quick little job. This is the tedious, meticulous nature of animation though.

I find it very difficult to get my ‘working sessions’ started, but usually once I get moving, I’m pretty good at keeping going. A lot of the time it really requires me to be in the right head space, but sometimes I surprise myself and get an hour or two done in an evening during the week, after having had a crap day at the paying job and feeling tired and completely unmotivated.

This is the challenge of working by yourself on something which nobody else is waiting on you for and nobody else is knowingly going to pay you for either.

I will put the call out there again, it would be great to link up with some kind of producer or business partner….. anyone??

So for the last few months the only animation project I have managed to contribute anything to is one I am calling ‘Bush Buds’. The idea came from an old joke about a stoned koala in a tree, and I guess because of the anthropomorphic nature of the characters involved, the humour of the ‘mature content’, and a nice punchline to finish with, it appealed to me as a nice idea to try and animate.

I took a week off in September and hired a cabin on Mullaway beach just north of Coffs. This was as much a celebration of Spring in my own mind as it was an opportunity for a ‘working holiday’ in an idyllic location – just me, the doodle, my surfboard and the sounds of the bush and the surf.

The week was an absolute success. I only wish I had more than the 4 and a half days in the shack. I spent the first few days just chilling, driving around a bit, but mostly just chilling in the van with Marley, playing on different beaches, going for a couple surfs and reading Steinbeck’s ‘Travels with Charley’, a thoroughly appropriate book for the moment!

Once in the shack, the days were fairly similar. Wake up around 5.30am, head to the beach with the doodle for a play, then back to make us both breakfast and then I was usually sat down on the verandah and working by around 7am.

On the first day, my intentions were to go in 2 hours shifts – 2 hours work, then 2 hours play (surf/walk/exercise/shops/cooking), and so on until I had got through 8 hours work. This was a pretty nice arrangement, after a couple hours I usually start feeling a little restless, but then after a short break, I find myself thinking about the project and keen to get on with the next steps….. By the final day, I was starting work at 7am, working solidly through till around 1pm, then I’d have an hour or two break, and was back on the computer grinding away till dinner time. From memory I put in around 8 hours work the first day, 9 the next, 10 the next and then 11 on the last. I still squeezed in some time on the beach and in the hammock and came back to the big smoke feeling thoroughly refreshed and inspired.

And then….. well, things slowed down a bit like they do when those Swedish cars test out their air bags.

It is only in the last few weeks since I have been working part-time in the new design role, that I have got back onto it. Unfortunately I cannot afford to survive with only 2 days paid work, but at least I am being productive again with the long term goal back in focus.

So my free days have involved some time in the mornings searching for work, making applications, or trying to improve my ‘public presence’ – such as updating the blog and polishing the website and portfolio a bit. I have been getting some exercise in most days and that definitely helps me feel a lot better. But then mid-afternoon I feel compelled into ‘relaxation’.

Having visited Norman Linsday’s place yesterday, my one wish would be to have the drive and energy that made him as prolific as he was. Sleeping 4 or 5 hours a night, etching in the morning, sculpting in the afternoon, painting in the evening, then maybe putting some time into building a miniature boat. I wish I could, but I just can’t operate like that. Well, at least when nobody else cares what I’m up to and nobody is paying for my work. However, perhaps if I had an estate such as that, I could?

OK, back into the breach once more….

It’s taken me a little while to sort out, I guess it wasn’t really a priority when I’m trying to find work and all… but the edited video of the trip across Oz is live and up on youtube. It’s nothing really special, just a bit of a play around in After Effects to make it somewhat viewable. Hopefully is mildly interested or amusing for you. Gives you a bit of an idea of what lies between Perth and Sydney as well.

Well today I made sure I had a break from the house, as it’s starting to grind on me a bit. Although I got out on the weekend a couple times, it’s not exactly the same. I took Marley for a play at the dog park/beach opposite the Newport Arms and then drove up to Palm Beach to park the Holden somewhere nice and peaceful, enjoying the fresh air and outlook of the ocean and Barrenjoey Head. I have kind of realised now that is my ‘special little place’. Doesn’t matter particularly where the Holden is, just as long as there’s a nice view, and not too many people around, and my furry mate for company. It seems to have become the best place for me to sit and think creatively, have some ideas, find some inspiration/motivation and generally feel at peace with myself.

I was quite successful again, having done it four or five times now over the last month. I just made notes this time as opposed to sketches or voice recordings.

The classic irony being, that as I sit there thinking about potential future exploits, one in particular being the little animation I’ve been working on where my hatred for parking inspectors can be comically expressed to the world…. and what happens? A parking inspector rocks up, gives a ticket to the car next to me, takes a couple photos and actually leaves me alone, even though I hadn’t purchased a ticket myself! Perhaps he just liked the car? Perhaps he realised I would have blown up about the fact there wasn’t even a ticket machine within sight? Perhaps he was just scared of a big guy and a big dog who looked like they didn’t care?

Meh… they still must all die! I mean, there are a few professions out there which feed off human suffering but very occasionally those particular roles do provide a positive to society. There is absolutely NOTHING that a parking inspector does except bring misery to people’s lives. They have absolutley NO positive impact on the world, and yet, there’s people who choose to live their life that way. Thoughts people?

Phew! Well that just seemed to take waaaay longer than it should. In the last 4 months or so, I have spent days and days on the Mac just putting together portfolios of different types, tweaking the CV several times, writing application after application, email after email, phone call after phone call, just to try and find some work!

I guess this might not be something new to many of you, but it is to me. In the past finding work has taken a little bit of effort, but usually something has turned up reasonably easily. The frustration too, comes from thinking back to those days when I was stuck in an office somewhere looking at a beautiful day outside wishing I didn’t have to work, daydreaming of all the fun things I could be doing.

Strangely enough, over the last 12 months, the daydreaming has actually involved wishing I just had a little time to myself where I could get on with my ‘own work’. That is, chipping away on the Dumbleweeds cartoon and other animations in the pipeline – all very time-consuming work.

The new Weary Dunlop statue at the AWM. Wallabies and war medic legend.

A trip to Canberra last weekend and the Australian War Memorial (always amazing and inspiring!) reminded me of the feature film script a mate and I had been working on which has just sat there for a long time now….. there’s another one I’d like to have the time for. But no, I have to spend all my time finding work which will then take all my time away from me again.

Mmmmmmmatilda Bay

Stupid money… Who decided to invent the crap in the first place?! It only makes people shallow and selfish. (A new post on some sort of utopian communist existence will probably turn up soon. When I have the time!)

I don’t think even sweet, nourishing, all-conquering beer can solve this one. (Came across some Dogbolter at a craft beer shop in Fyshwick, mmmmm…)

So if you’re slightly interested, or perhaps know someone who might be, the sparkly new PDF version of my portfolio can be downloaded here, to supplement the sparkly but slightly older Flash version. and not-so-sparkly but still new slideshow version on the design page.

Well I made it. 5 and a half days, a little slower than last time due to a detour through Kalgoorlie and a few little car ‘incidents’. Overall was pretty awesome fun, I experienced several of those fantastic moments where I’m just in the outback with my furry best friend for company and the peace and the space are just overwhelming and inspiring. Golden rays coming through the trees onto the flies buzzing round the roadkill, silently watching the 50 year old Holden purr by. Awesome. And a great time to listen to the Oils ‘Diesel and Dust’ through twice.

There’s a gallery up on Facebook, and I’m just editing through some video now. Here’s a quick shot as a sample….

Not that the pilot episode is completed yet, I felt compelled to get something out there to show you all. Visit The Dumbleweeds Project page to see the 2 minute promo clip.

Please pass the link around, I am really keen for some assistance (of any sort) to get the series off the ground. At the very least, some feedback will be helpful. Motivation and inspiration can be hard to come by at times when you’re flying solo

I’m currently hunting around for some more freelance work having enjoyed a booking in North Sydney over the last couple of months. (Certainly interested in the right permanent role as well.) If anyone knows of any, or knows of anyone who might know of someone who might need a little help along the design side of things, please let me know or send them here. I am completely open-minded about the type of work, location, hours and pay, but if you require me to dance the macarena on a podium in some weird theme bar wearing a grass skirt…. at 5 in the morning… then the pay is going to have to be pretty good.

In the meantime I am grateful to have some more time to chip away on the animation projects and appreciate the chance to surf in the middle of the day, but this won’t pay the bills!