Fifteen years ago, I completed one of my first ever paid school murals at Mt Cotton State School, and during that time, I have been privileged to work on an array of artworks for the school. This latest projects saw my sign writing skills put to the test on a new sign and some landscape imagery for The Rainforest Room.
Late last year, we received a phone call from Redlands Museum with a request for an interior mural with a horse ploughing a field. “Easy done!” I said. “No worries mate.” That was before I learnt it was a 14m x 6m wall. But, with Sauce being a professional I was confident the mural would be an interesting and suitable challenge.
After some further consultation with the staff and volunteers, the theme and images were determined. The layout and design was relatively simple as the concept needed to be historically accurate since it was a part of the tractor display in the museum. The staff and volunteers at the museum were great to work with and it was refreshing to see such a professionally managed facility. With any luck, Sauce will be painting more backdrops and murals for the museum to help set the scene for their carefully curated displays.
This mural made it into the local paper.
The team at Redland Museum were so impressed with Sauce’s work on the farming display, they decided to commission him for a second mural for the Grand View Hotel display. The Grand View Hotel was the first licensed establishment in Queensland and is located in Cleveland, Redland City. The pub still stands today and as past residents of Redland City, both Sauce and myself have enjoyed a beverage or two at the old pub, especially on Christmas Eve, but that’s another story.
This mural was one of the most challenging and intricate murals Sauce has undertaken since the backdrop required a high level of detail to recreate the historic pub. The angle of the mural was also significant, as the pre-existing doors needed to be worked into the mural.
As always, the staff and volunteers were amazing to work with. Sauce tells me he was fed scones with jam and cream and had free reign over the tea room. Excitement indeed!
As I travelled towards Duthie Park in Blackall, a decrepit tree seemed to call me as it had a story to tell. I was propelled to take a closer look and I found the textures, the shapes and colours were asking to be painted. The tree tells his own story and I had the privilege of using him for my inspiration.
Oil on canvas 80 X 40 cm.
