Sydney

Sydney has so many galleries that I'm going crazy trying to choose which ones to visit. But from what I'm reading, Melbourne sounds even better! My first day was at the New South Wales Gallery which had a few contemporary aboriginal paintings. The main floor displayed some great modern peices... I have my photo beside Brett Whiteley's giant "The Balcony 2" which I absolutely love. One of Whistler's gray landscapes made me remember to not forget the older artists. Then there was a special exhibition on Margaret Preston, the most famous female Australian artist. Her work morphed from still life paintings to pottery and woodblock prints (my favourite phase) and then back to painting, but with a much more Aboriginal style she gained when discovering rock drawings later in her life. I really started to relate to this woman's work, especially when I saw a book full of Japanese patterns she had used as colour reference. Also her interest in flat patterns, flower subjects, and even her published illustration used to map out new rock paintings as they were discovered way back in the (30-40's?).

Yesterday I went to Manly beach, but before heading out with a few new Dutch friends, I met an old man. Steven saw me taking photos of the funny Ibis birds in Hyde Park and when I told him I'm a graphic designer he got all excited and showed me his membership card to a Poets Society. He said, "I must give you some advice that you should never forget... (long pause)... There are not bad things in the world, there is only bad thinking." I'm not sure if he wrote this himself but as he walked away shaking his finger at me very seriously, and as much as I really like the quote, I wondered why he had to tell ME this? P