Category Archives: #drawing

White ribbon day.

Posted by on

Today is White Ribbon Day, a national day to stop men’s violence against women. There’s a lot of stuff on the telly and lots going on online and it’s making my head spin a bit.

I hope this day isn’t just another day of lip service, and that people are actually taking stock of the statistics and experiences being shared. I hope people can shut up and just listen. Listen and learn. I hope men are checking themselves; how they treat the women in their lives. Your crazy bitch ex or your wayward sister, your bitter aunt, your batty mother.
Because I know a lot of men who think that they are liberal and politically open minded, but the women in their lives suffer greatly. I know a lot of men who talk about human rights but know or care very little about the rights of women and girls. You know, more than half the people on this planet.

The political starts at home.

If you’re out there publishing in the Guardian – or some such publication, making public appearances with the little white ribbon decorating your lapel paying lip service to White Ribbon day yet you think you’re doing a favour when babysitting your own bloody children, you think you can harass women in public because of what they are wearing, you think you can treat a person who works in the sex industry as a lesser being than you, you’re silent – and let’s be clear, silence is enabling – when you know a man is beating his wife/ girlfriend/ children/ step children. When you threaten and intimidate to make a point. You think you have rights to someones body, you have sex with your partner in a way you know they find painful/ humiliating but you think that your pleasure overrides theirs. When you use children as pawns. When you think being pissed is a valid reason. When you have no insight into your own behaviour – then it all means nothing.

So by all means, wear your white ribbon – but check yourself. How are you really treating the women in your life?

A week before The Move

Posted by on

It has been quite the week. My life drawing lessons at Ararat Regional Art Gallery finished up, we have nearly finished painting my studio and the tiles are going to start going into the bathroom. We may still not have a bathroom when we move in but there’s a little shower and a loo off of the studio so that’ll do. But my word, we have to do some serious cleaning up, the place IS a building site and very, very messy.
I’m excited but also very nervous. We live near friends here, like walking distance. The back yard with all of it’s green and flowers and birdies – I am going to really miss them.
It’s not so much the house that I am attached to, but rather this time. It’s coming to an end and that is sad.

But onto the happy!

studio

Painting my studio together was the best. We’ve had so many ups and downs and disappointments and losses over the last few years that this seems quite healing. Finally a space that is ours that we are preparing together. Just the three of us.

studio3 (photo by kiddo)

studio4

It’s come together pretty quickly. We listened to a lot of music too, which was cool.

glock

So, I have finished my last promised drawing for the year and now it is time that I really pack and clean and move and clean and sort and clean. But we have to go for a bike ride first, get some doughnuts and all of that. Then I’ll pack, I promise.

drawingfin_lily_mae_martin

See you on the other side

x

Church at Billy Billy Creek

Posted by on

churchatbillybillycreek_lilymaemartin

I first saw this church as a friend and I took a drive to Ararat to visit Aradale just over a year ago. It was one of those places that I tend to spot that is too close to the highway to stop, but interesting enough for me to think on and think on and wonder how I can get to it just to take a quick snap so I can go home to do some research and find out more about it.
This church is crooked and nestled in thick, golden dry grass. Which always seems amazing to me but especially when it is in contrast to a grey and heavy sky, as it was yesterday. It is paired with an out house and a hall. As I stood in front of it yesterday evening, I noticed the clouds covering the hills out the back, and cockatoos flocking to the tops of the trees with their hilarious and endearing squawk squawk squawking. It reminded me of a walk I took last week – after a group therapy session where I was privy to heart broken and broken people. I walked past an blue stone church which stood there old and ominous. Cockatoos were screeching, circling and landing on the spire, only to squawk some more at one another and take off to circle it again. A game.
They made me smile, they always make me smile.
Like when we take long drives down stretches of road that seem to glare and go on forever. Past silos and houses that look the same, cockatoos will glide past or overhead. They are so graceful in flight yet always seem to be screaming, maybe even swearing at one another. I love them for that.

Yesterday after I got my snap I lumbered back to the car, we took off again and I noticed a rib cage on the side of the road. I was pretty thrilled about it but we couldn’t stop because the western highway is not the road for that kind of thing. Gene remarked that I get more excited about these things than most people. I thought that that was odd. How can you not be excited about these sort of things? They are so interesting.

Sunday

Posted by on

Today was full of croissants, coffee, oranges, carrots, brie. There was sanding and playing and face painting and fairy wings. Hula hooping, magic wands, still life painting and very little drawing. There was cooking and cleaning and cold air turning warm. There were two you tube sessions; dominated mostly by Kimbra and Regina Spektor. I can’t believe it is almost over and that we have to start the whole week again. I have my last life drawing lesson this week and a studio to prep and paint. I want time to slow down and stay still and be a Sunday forever and ever and ever.

sunday1

sunday2

sundaystilllife

sunday3