Big Days
Well that was a big day. I did the racecourse market this morning, til 3pm. Then I’d arranged to meet ‘Roger from Adelaide’, someone I met years ago, at the Sunday market. We agreed to meet up, as he was in town with work.
(Here’s some piano music to listen to as you browse, if you like):
We had an excellent (but all too brief) conversation about music, creativity & life. Partly because I was late to our meeting, due to traffic, I drove Roger into the CBD afterwards and we listened to the mix of the as yet unreleased 6th album by Paul and I in the car as we talked
The great thing about the arts: it brings people together. Big day, but it was a fun day.
Exhibition/ Painting
On that note, I’ve had some more nice conversations about the exhibition (like the one on last week’s blog). It’s fun and interesting, hearing what a painting to means to someone. It’s a bit like a song lyric -it’ll mean something totally diffrent to the next person, which is great…the arts bring out the joy in life.
Here’s some works in progress pics of a large painting, the final one I produced for the exhibition (I painted a smaller study of this – 20 x 50cm – last year). Every now and then, I’ll choose to do a larger one with more detail….
In goes the sky and the trees, leaving the outlines of the beach boxes and the horizon.
Working from the smallest in the distance, I paint the beach boxes. As each one goes in, it determines the tones, the brightness and shadow intensity of the next one and so on. Letting the paint lead the way. I mix the colours intuitively, in the moment. There are 5 colours in the red roof, for instance.
Drawing all the lines is fun. I enjoy the challenge. My eyes do get a bit crosseyed sometimes…
…especially like a section below - all the whites and greys in the middle
I like to step back completely from time to time, to get a feeling of the whole painting as it’s taking shape – like getting outside of the mix of a song I’m recording. You give your ears a rest and then you hear more clearly somehow (by the way, the vertical lines are warped by the camera on an angle – a quick pic as I was painting).
and here it is.
Mills Beach, Mornington, Vic (blue & red beach box) 167 x 61cm $1850
You can see the painting with the others here, on last week’s post.
(back to the day I had the meeting with Roger).…And now I still have 40 mins to drive back home . I’ll make my lunch and get to bed as quickly as I can – there’s teaching tomorrow.
I’ve said it before on this blog…teaching is a big commitment for me, not least that I have to get up at 6am (which I do 4 days in a row: 2 markets and 2 days teaching (26 private lessons). And I get home at 7pm. These are 2 intensive teaching days, which require a lot of energy and patience. I’m essentially entertaining all day, too, to help keep the youngsters focussed.
The coolest thing just happened. I just met Stuart. He makes underwater videos of the bay….on a whim I stopped by a favourite fish n chip shop in Sandringham. There was a moment of humour when the shop owner announced they were closed. 2 steamed dim sims available? Sure. We had a bit of a laugh and a chat. Stuart turned out to be an underwater video maker – and shoots band videos! underwater and randoms YouTube .
Then, walking back to my car, I got talking to a chap who was watering some plants beside the train station . This was Dave from the sandy arts project ( doing things for local art and music In the community).
So, the combination of being in the arts and being open to conversations means there’s opportunities for lots of synchronicity that seems to be happening a lot for me presently.
Perhaps there’ll be an opportunity for me to work with these people – by being open to having a conversation there’s is a possibility. I enjoy ‘random’ conversations like this with ‘strangers’…
I let all this wash over me as I ate my fish n chips in the car, parked beside the lapping waves of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne. Watching the last of the sunlight dissolve into the indigo sky, I allowed myself the time to sit and just be.
Sure, I should have been racing off home. It’s a challenge to teach 12 lessons on not enough sleep. But you’ve got to take these opportunities of rest as they come along.
Dave asked me about The gist of my blog. So I said: ‘sharing my art & music; encouraging others down the creative path; offering some peace and entertainment along the way’. I think that could be a 10 second ‘elevator pitch’.
The weeks tumble on by, they turn into months and years – as they do for us all. One of the nice things about the creative path are the constant pleasant surprises along the way.
Like this photo that popped up online. The saxophonist was my Uncle and Godfather, Peter Rainford, from Palmerston North, N.Z. This band was called The Flares. Peter was a great role model for me.
Very cool – and smart, with the matching gear.
I loved the costumes of Split Enz and Crowded House. Noel Crombie was such a great designer.
This was another nice surprise I had this week: Mornington Peninsula Art & Culture ….created a nice short promo video ( a reel ) and posted it on line, saying my exhibition is ‘incredible’. That was nice of them.
Song and A Chat Podcast
Episode #198 Only Love Is Real
(Song starts at 4:29)
Song #660, is a seemingly simple song. But it was a big day, the day I took the hand of the person who turned out to be my wife…
‘When you took my hand, helped me to understand
Worked out how I felt, The turning of the wheel, Only love is real‘
At the time it felt momentous. It felt like everything that had seemed so important, everything that had a hold on me, just sort of fell away.
‘When you caught my eye, we gave this dance a try…’
I’ve been thinking a lot and reading a lot through the years. The title of this song is also about how: before the Big Bang, all the way through since, underlying all, is love. A bit of humour keeps it real. And only love is real…read more / listen
Have I had a break after finishing the paintings? No, not really. I did allow myself the ‘Yay’ moment when the paintings were installed and I walked out the door. Since then, it’s been all ‘go’, really…
I have another seascape commission to finish, then I’ll finish some albums of music. I find it unsettling to have an album waiting so close to being completed. I have 5 like that. It doesn’t feel right. Plays on mind.
It’s always felt like some kind of agreement: if a song comes to (through) me, I’ll do my utmost to record it and set it on its way out into the world. I’ll get there. I recorded the last bit of piano for the album after I recorded my podcast episode. It’s about grabbing those moments – if the mood is right….
There’s a ripple effect with the arts and music. it is so nice to hear my music and art is having a positive effect in the world, albeit to a fairly modest degree, thus far – and who knows what the future holds. The ‘now’ – the journey – is the thing.
Why have I not finished these latest 5 albums that mean so much to me? Only so many hours in a week. Arts markets, piano lessons, the exhibition, I’m a husband, a dad…. It it’s ok – I’ll finish them. They’re on high rotate in the car, I make mental notes of corrections to make. Eg: some tracks too loud, an errant cymbal hit, a backing vocal line too quiet, etc.
It’s so much like bringing a painting together. There’s always room for improvement, but it’s also about knowing when to stop.
I aim to stop recording a song (or painting a picture) before it starts to get over worked. Things can quickly start to sound and look too clean, too fussed over. I prefer a little earthiness, a few edges to keep it real. And keep it a joy.
That way, I produce products of love – not documents of pain.
I write, paint, and record very quickly. It suits me creatively, and It’s partly out of necessity , too, with how busy I am working hard to create a weekly income to feed a family, ( including teaching the one on one private piano lessons).
So it’s a case of ‘do‘ – or ‘do not‘ . And I choose to ‘do‘., constantly and positively. I think we might as well aim to enjoy ourselves along the way.
I hope todays post has had that effect for you.
Look what magically appeared on my lawn: Lawn henge!
I had a bit of fun with some bricks after big day mowing the lawns. I like doing things like this -something a bit whacky, in amongst some hard work (They’re still in this arrangement, actually).
If you’re enjoying my writing here, perhaps you’ll enjoy some spoken word.
In some ways I’m quite a private person. Having said that, I’m as open as I’ve ever been in many respects. I do love performing on stage.
Here’s us at The Espy. It was big day that day – and also the day I wrote the lyrics, years ago in NZ – in a motel room after having flown to a gig, performing and finally picking up the pen to reflect on the events…glad I did. Paul Dredge and I wrote the music together, but we didn’t record this one for some reason. So I did it with the Patient Hum guys… I wonder If Paul and I will record it one day?
Live music is what’s missing in my life, presently. A return to regular performances sounds good to me. That’s how I made a living for 20 years. …
This gig was at the end of a really big day: at dawn we’d been trout fishing in Taupo, NZ, and eventually we’d driven back for 3 hours just in time to play for 3 hours at the piano bar in the evening!
Lookout for an upcoming piano concert (it’ll be somewhat different from the above performances!) You’ll hear about it here. Im currently preparing for this – it’ll include pieces from my 4 piano solo albums, and a selection form the 5th (this album should be finished soon).
Ok on with my (working) day – another big day. Hope you’re having an enjoyable ‘big’ day.
Pete
PS : Here’s the lyrics from the song featured on this weeks podcast episode.
______
Only love is real lyrics
All those precious things That come to mind
The joy it brings Seems to me remind
Me of the cloudy day I left far behind
*
Lovely sun filled days. The questions of the night
Thinking of the way. We put things to right
See how the flower bends Toward the light
*
When you caught my eye We gave this dance a try
Sorted through the deal. Kept an even keel
Only love is real
*
And when I think of those Gazing at the moon
No comfort in a lonely tune Yet this will surely close
New chapters coming soon. Hang on to the promise of dawn
Hearts will be mended, once torn
*
Though faint may be the path. Keep an open mind to laugh
Yes the stars may steal. But here’s what they reveal
Only love is real
*
See how she heals. Only love is real