I thought it would be interesting, but it was just weird
Alby and Esther’s 2023
It was a pigeon who eventually reopened Pandora’s box, unearthing the white dove of hope and locating the long-lost keys to her father’s chariot
Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 90cm
As the first woman to ever exist, Pandora must have been surprised to receive a present. Men are traditionally poor gift givers and Zeus, apart from being a God, was no exception.
When all the world’s misery and evil started spilling out of her box, Pandora, despite sensing that ‘it was the thought that counted’ shoved the lid back on. Had she been willing to endure a little more infinite suffering, Pandora would have noticed that, at the very bottom of the jar lay hope.
To this very day, novelty gifts remain popular in Greek culture.
Jesus brings his A-game
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100 cm
Ever since the wedding at Cana, Jesus had developed a reputation for being a bit of a trickster. So then at Pentecost, when he demonstrated how one day he would return to earth disguised as a piece of toast, no one was all that surprised.
Holy Roller
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
The road to hell is paved with good intentions but perfect for burnouts
Without warning, buildings can transform themselves into giant prawns
Acrylic on canvas 90 x 60 cm
Admittedly, it doesn’t happen very often
Is it Ibis or is it cake?
Acrylic on canvas 60 x 45 cm
To know, is to know that you know nothing, about cake
Cranky Sam Poo and colleague set fire to Kelly’s Hotel in Mudgee after being evicted from the 1861 Annual Bushranging Conference for refusing to remove their helmets.
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100 cm
Bowls of mints, souvenir pens and fun little icebreaker games, even bushrangers love conferences. Of course, in less enlightened times, facilitators often failed to respect individual and cultural differences.
When a conference venue burns down, is it a problem or is it an opportunity?
The Crabb brothers evade arrest
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100 cm
April 6 1931, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, Man with a head full of budgies is arrested for the murder of Stinky Muldoon, allowing all three Crabb brothers to walk free. The siblings would go on to control the criminal underworld of Mudgee for a further 30 years until the invention of fingerprints in 1965.
To this day, their story continues to inspire young men with a belief that whilst ever we stick together, all things are possible.
Guinea piggin’ ute with a shit-load of aerials
Acrylic on canvas 40 x 50cm
There is nothing worse than losing radio contact when you are out there guinea piggin’. Don’t take unnecessary risks, be prepared.
Little Aussie Battler 1
Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 40 cm
Although canaries have a long and proud association with mining, Buster was among the very first to step outside of traditional species bound roles within the industry.
Is it the head of John the Baptist on a plate or is it cake?
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30cm
If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him!
Go off at Bangers (artists impression)
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100 cm
The former Kellett’s explosive shed redevelopment in Lawson Park will provide the Mudgee Region with yet another night time attraction.
Is it Mudgee Town Hall or is it cake?
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30cm
The wind and the flag Do not move Only the mind Except sometimes the win And sometimes the flag
Staff Meeting
Acrylic on canvas, 91 x 122cm
Enough said!
Little Aussie Battler 2
Acrylic on canvas, 122 x 152 cm
Juvenile green grocer cicadas spend up to seven years underground sacking sap from tree roots in order to sustain themselves.
Upon surfacing, many would like to become librarians. Unfortunately, longstanding conventions regarding silence and libraries will make this dream impossible for all but the most disciplined.
Vigilantes meet to discuss a koala after a tree that Henry Lawson once threw up on is completely denuded
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100
Despite the danger they pose to farmers, miners and lovers of Australian verse, koalas continue to enjoy special protection from the government.
Enough is enough!
Is its Russell’s Chaff and Grain Mill or is it cake?
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100cm
From forth the smallest seed, springeth the death of so many trees
Fish Parrot
Acrylic on canvas, 45 x 35 cm
For are not all birds merely fish of the air?
Rug apocalypse at the Mudgee Regent Theatre
Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 50cm
Do not lose hope my little ones, for in my father’s house there are many rooms, and all of them need carpets
Lawn Prawn Infestation at the Mudgee Bowling Club
Acrylic on canvas, 75 x 100 cm
Like most important events, the Mudgee - Gulgong Mixed Doubles Pennant was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, and then again in 2021. With so much riding on the 2022 event, bowlers were devastated when greens at the Mudgee Bowling Club became infested with lawn prawns.
As Gulgong club stalwart Tucker Read puts it, "If there's anything that unites Australians, it's hardship, or maybe seafood."
"Technically speaking, lawn prawns aren't actually seafood because they grow in the lawn and not the sea. But you know what I mean and you know that Australians aren't a nation of thinkers, we're a nation of doers. Nations of doers don't sit around in trenches arguing the classification of various food stuffs, they're happy to jump out and run into a machine gun with their mates."
"When the Mixed Doubles Pennant was cancelled for the third year in a row, a lot of us realised that people from Mudgee and Gulgong aren't all that different from one another after all. We have the same dreams and hopes, we all love our families, and we love pulling on the whites and having a roll."
"If the world gives you prawns - make cocktails!"
Having travelled so very far, all they found was Misery
Acrylic on canvas, 35 x 45 cm
Despite the introduction of a new curfew at Mudgee airport, UFO sightings at Mount Misery continue.
Godzilla trashes Market Street
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 cm
What is council doing about the possibility of a large reptile running rampant through our commercial district?
I can’t believe it’s not I can’t believe it’s not butter
Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 cm
The mind is butter Contemplating butter Through a dream of margarine