Detlef Jumpertz

Crikey, I really am a slacker!!!! How embarassing, 2+ months between entries (not counting Illustration Friday), even more embarassing knowing that the many people who participated in Sketchcrawl produced more individually in one day than my total output over the past 2 months. Nonetheless, the good news is that yes, I finally got around to finishing some more drawings, in-between losing money on the punt and coming to grips with various election results both here and abroad.

The first drawing that I managed to complete was Hobby Horse #2 (HH#2) - I know it's not quite a horse (ok it's not a horse at all) but artistic licence is a wonderful thing. I subsequently entered it, HH#1 and Noir for the Conrad Jupiters Art Prize. This was one of those competitions where you had to supply some wanky pseudo-intellectual treatise about one's work. My literary supporting documentation read as follows:

The Hobby Horse series reflects the dichotomy between our respective childhoods and the adult world, and the relative freedom we have as children in taking in our surroundings. The hobby horses of the merry-go-round are viewed in a joyous and whimsical manner by children, but viewed in a more utilitarian way by adults. The poles that anchor the hobby horses represent our increasingly shackled thinking as we progress through life ñ the unbridled falcons represent alternate realities. The series can be viewed as an allegory on contemporary politics and its focus on rationalism.

A load of bollocks that left the judges suitably unimpressed. No surprise then that within 10 days another letter of rejection arrived in the mail. A bit frustrating especially as I'm quite chuffed by the Hobby Horse series.

I must be getting used to the knock-backs because it didn't have an impact on me, mainly because I remain (very) proud of all the three works that I entered. This was the fourth and final contest I entered for the year, batting 25% with respect to being exhibited. Hey, it's a passable strike rate for an amateur.

One might wonder why enter these competitions (aside from the need for some ego gratification or feeding a masochistic streak)? In my case it's really as a motivational aid, as my drawing time is limited the discipline of having to create something by a deadline provides some of that creative stimulus for me......as does drawing inspiration from other artists.

My most recent lethargy towards drawing was broken in this way. I have always been impressed by the urban/city scenes portrayed by the likes of Edward Hopper, Charles Sheeler and Jeffrey Smart (sorry you'll have to google them yourself), and had mapped out doing something similar (says he of many ideas, no time, and on occasions even less inclination). Eventually, looking at their images and those of NY buildings sketched by Danny Gregory (and his partner in crime - Tom Kane [see Nov 21 & 22 entries]) broke the motivational drought.

So I knuckled down and commenced work on an inner city urban scene entitled Empires Lost based on the photos I took when I was last in Sydney. I know it's not quite New York but it does have a "Gotham" feel to it. Both buildings were originally constructed as warehouses in circa 1920 and are located just on the fringe of the Sydney CBD. I also wanted to give the buildings a feeling of being somewhat shaky, vulnerable and crumbling - to that end I may have gone overboard - they look a little too teetering for my liking!

From there it was a case of expanding on the theme, and trying to capture some of the noirish underbelly of the people that may have occupied the buildings. Perhaps Danny Gregory's portraits of serial killers et al was foremost in my head at the time, or more likely watching too many episodes of Criminal Intent.

The result was two more drawings, which for the time being are entitled Reader and Trouble. The former reminds me of an SP (starting price) bookie, awaiting his clients' calls to place assorted bets (subliminally maybe I was feeling my own losses over the Spring Carnival - ouch is that my hip-pocket nerve biting again?). The latter drawing - well heck I can't explain it, at the time it just seemed like an intriguing narrative - and those bricks, well I'm sick of drawing them, someone please restrain me from drawing so many bricks again.....ditto for those spirally, twirly merry-go-round poles.

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