Have you seen Red Dog yet?  If not I thoroughly recommend it, it is one of those movies that the Aussies do really well.  Quirky and surprising and very real, not the Hollywood look at all.  Not a nip or tuck in sight that’s for sure, I spotted two sets of even teeth in the whole movie and one of those belonged to the American star Josh Lucas, who was the leading man.  The other set to Australian actor John Batchelor who plays Peeto, who also stars in the Underbelly series Razor.  He is no oil painting by any stretch of the imagination but there is just something magical about him, he has that x-factor and just light up the screen.  I love that about the Australian and British movies that people look like they do in real life, tall, skinny, short, fat, wrinkled and crooked teeth, young and old.   The cast includes Noah and Rachel Taylor (no relation) as well as many other fine Aussie actors and even includes several people as extras from Mallala, Two Wells and Balaklava.

ART SHOULD MAKE YOU FEEL

So go to the movies prepared to both laugh and cry, because it certainly makes you feel and that is the whole reason for art isn’t it?  Whether it’s looking at paintings or sculptures or seeing a movie or a play, you want to come away from the experience feeling something!  This movie is guaranteed to do that.

DOGS AND ART

The story is about the famous” Red Dog” a Kelpie cattle dog cross, who roamed the countryside of the Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and rumour has it he even caught a ride on a ship to Japan.  He had a couple of “masters” during his life time but was for the most part an independent wanderer who would hitch a ride with motorists by sitting in the middle of the road.  It is said that Red was looking for his beloved “master” as he wandered from town to town looking into everyone’s faces as he searched far and wide.    Red was the best friend to nearly the entire population of the mining town Dampier in the 1970’s and it was here he eventually returned.   A bronze statue was erected in his honor after his death.

Dampier and the statue will no doubt get a lot more visitors now that the movie has alerted us to its existence.  Several books have been written about Red, however this movie is based on the book by British author Louis de Bernieres (author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin which also was made into a film starring Nicolas Cage & Penelope Cruz).  It certainly is a heartfelt movie superbly directed by Kriv Stender, which provides us with those ‘laugh out loud’ moments and is suitable for the whole family.

Another ‘laugh out loud’ moment I would like to tell you about is from our darling dog Saba, or Ali Baba as I used to call her.  She is the red dog in the above painting a Red Heeler and shared our lives on the farm.

MORE ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

My husband used to work away during the week and Saba would sleep in the ute during the night (as hotels are not too keen on the four legged variety of guest.)  Anyway one day a packet of Kraft Cheese singles (cheese slices individually wrapped in plastic) was left on the dashboard of the car and when hubby let Saba out in the morning the cheese of course were long gone – packet and all.

However a day later the Kraft Cheese reappeared in the grass although now they were curled up in the shape of pencils but otherwise still intact and still wrapped in plastic.  You could theoretically uncurled it, taken off the plastic and eaten it again lol, not that we did mind you!

Here is a quote I like by Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw);

“A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

Till next time painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx     (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog and would like another with a movie team here is 92 Art & walk across my swimming pool

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Before we emigrated from Sweden to Australia my father promised my brother and me that when we get there we were allowed to have both a large swimming pool and a donkey!  Well I guess the perception of what life would be like in sunny Australia when you sit and dream about it from snow-covered Sweden can alter a bit, LOL.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS

We did not find any kangaroos hopping about the suburban streets, nor was it ever possible to have a donkey in the ½ an acre suburban house block, but my dad did come true with the big swimming pool.  Would you believe he actually dug the hole for it himself, there wasn’t much he couldn’t do my dad when it came to it.  Seemed to us like he was in the hole for months and digging all the way to China.

(I actually eventually got 2 donkeys when we lived at the farm, but that’s another story)

The pool was eventually finished and it was the most magnificent oasis away from the hotter than hot Australian weather and we enjoyed swimming night and day.

GICLEE PRINTS

So the inspiration for this acrylic on canvas painting comes from a combination of our swimming pool and seeing the movie “Jaws” at the drive-in.  It’s called “At The Drive-in” (also available as a limited edition GICLEE PRINT)

Drive-in movies were something we did not have in Sweden and we all really loved going to them in Australia.  You would just pile into the car, it used to cost a few bucks for a carload of people, you’d hook up the speaker (although sometimes it took a while to find one that didn’t crackle) and you were set to go.

Of course you would make a trip to the canteen and buy those “sometimes foods” like Chico rolls and pop top ice creams and see lots of kids who already have their pajamas and dressing gowns on begging their parents for lollies and sweets. (The kids usually fall asleep before the end of the movie and would be easily transported straight to bed then.)

ART & MOVIES

So it was on one of these nights that I went to see “Jaws” and lol that so spoiled my love for the water, so much so that it took quite a while before I would have any night swims in the pool.  Of course I knew it was illogical to think that a shark could be in the pool – but there still was that silly thought in the back of my mind!  I do love swimming still but never again had the devil may care attitude to the sea.  Perhaps that has been good anyway as there certainly have been quite a few shark attacks locally.

ART FROM AUSTRALIA

Which brings me to a wonderful new Australian movie called “The Reef” which I strongly recommend that you all go and see.  It is based on a true story which I remember reading about in the papers some years ago, about a group of friends who were to spend a week on a yacht whilst delivering it to a new buyer in Indonesia – when it all goes pear shaped and the yacht capsizes off the North Australian coast and the group have to decide whether to sink or swim!

I won’t tell you anymore details, so I don’t spoil the story for you – other than to say that the four of us that went to the movies forgot to breathe quite a few times and actually had to think about doing so, lucky for us the time just flew by, or we would have been out of oxygen!   The actors were great and you will recognize a couple from the Underbelly series such as Damian Walshe-Howling and Gyton Grantley and the movie was written and directed by by Andrew Traucki, who is an up and coming director to watch.

So here is a quote from Woody Allen which I think fits perfectly here;

“A relationship, I think is like a shark, you know?  It has to constantly move forward or it dies.  And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx   (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.