Well it is official. I hate computers. It has taken me quite some time, months in fact, to work out how to get back into my site to add another post. I am a pretty instinctive person and can work most things out, but for some reason I just have no feel for these wretched machines. My son looks at me like I am simple. Anyway, that is my excuse this time…..But as usual I have still been very busy.

Since my last post I have been busy making a commissioned Dragon from new parts for a Car Parts supply company. That was a little different, because I was more limited with available shapes than is usual, and all the parts came in boxes, and so I couldn’t get much of a feel for what I had to work with when I was forming ideas.

Lots of boxes

Turned into a Dragon

In the lead up to Christmas I had a half dozen pieces with a new ( to me ) gallery in Belgium that was having a ” Wheeled themed Exhibition “. This was Robinson’s Art gallery in Knokke Zoute. It looks like I will be doing some more work with them later in the year. Here are a couple of the pieces that sold there.

I love the Blitzen Benzes

The Giant Racing Fiats are always a favourite of mine

They still have a few more pieces available should you be in that part of the world.

The other thing that is happening this week is the opening of my latest Exhibition at Coda Gallery in Palm Desert California. It opens this weekend and I have a lot of nice pieces there. The Polar Bear Cubs that have been displayed at the Philadelphia Zoo are for sale in this exhibition. You can read about them in my earlier posts. Unfortunately I will not make the opening this time due to my wife being a little unwell. A pity. The people are always friendly there, and the light and shadows on the mountains are beautiful. We will make it there for the next one. Actually a really moving thing happened at one of my previous exhibition openings at Coda. Jodie and I were talking with guests and visitors to the gallery as is usual, when I spoke with an Aboriginal lady, I suspect the only Aboriginal lady in Palm Desert, who had been passing by and was drawn in by my work in the window. When I spoke, she quietly gasped, ” Your Australian ” and began to cry. She had married an American serviceman visiting Australia when she was very young, and never had the opportunity to return home. The sound of our accents ( Jodie’s is stronger than mine ) triggered some sort of really strong emotion. All three of us teared up. As it turned out she had grown up very near to where Jodie did. We had a nice chat and she said that she was so, so happy that she had decided to come into the gallery and get a little taste of home. You can see all of the works on Coda’s website, but here are a few.

Walt

Blue Flat track Racer

Skier

Mercedes Light Penguin

Langhorne Racer

American Cruiser

” Orang Utang ” Lifesized Coda Gallery U.S.A.

On other things, all my flooring is done.  So foolishly, I celebrated by buying another old car. After justifying if to myself by reminding myself that our other cars only have two seats, and grand children might be on the horizon, and I don’t like Jodie’s car being in shopping centre car parks, and …and..etc.  The truth is that I was inspired by reading Andre Lefebvre’s biography, and decided that what I really needed in my life was a Citroen DS Safari wagon. I wonder about myself sometimes. They are pretty rare now, but I did find a relatively rust free example, in a really really ugly faded dirty beige colour.The rust free bit did not include the relatively rust full tailgates, and right hand doors. As you do with these things, I have shed some blood pulling it apart, so that I can then shed more blood to reassemble it in a much more attractive manor.

Floors done, what over ambitious project next?

I know, an old worn out version of the world’s most complicated and rust prone car