*GENERAL WARNING* This post contains a drawing of spiders !
I am generally an insect and bug whisperer … but when it comes to the Funnel Web or Red Back spider, I am a fully qualified killer.
This is an illustration I did after cleaning multiple cobwebs around my house a few years ago. Although deadly, these guys spend hours weaving their webs and I can only admire their atistry and commitment in weavig their webs lol 🙂
I grew up on the Northern beaches of Sydney and my early adult life involved the hustle and bustle of Sydney. I loved the excitement of roaming the suburbs and everything I needed was a few minutes from home.
When I started Nursing, I lived in the nurses quarters, so my journey to work involved walking to the wards.
I worked at North Sydney, and my travel time became longer as I was living back at Avalon, so it was a two hour drive to work. Travelling was fun and to beat the bridge rising at ‘The Spit’, I would organise picking up co-workers so we could use the transit lane. This could save us upto 20 minutes!
After many years working at North Sydney, and a short stint working at Paddington, I moved to Coffs Harbour. It was bliss and I loved the beachy vibe.
After 6 years in Coffs Harbour, I moved back south and settled at Pearl Beach on the Central Coast. It was during this time that I had a car accident that really did a lot of damage. I never returned to full time work – I had too many spinal operations and I was in constant pain. My specialist doctor advised me to move to a cooler climate and start my ‘road to recovery’.
I moved to the mountains of a village called Ben Lomond, located on the Northern Tablelands of NSW.
It seemed very romantic at first.
The smell of an early morning fire crackling, the sounds of cows moo-ing and birds singing was, and still is, a treat.
I can hear all these sounds because it is so quiet without peak-hour rush traffic. I can count the 5 cars slowly passing by in the morning. People are rare to see. It is a small grazing community and the farmers only ventured off their property to go to the General Store.
Romantic? Yes! What I failed to realise is the extra work that is required to keep a 120 year old home and a 1 acre block of land in good condition as well as a constant supply of firewood and heating going.
I spent several years creating a series of gardens, dry stone walls, pathways and I constantly devised ways to keep the house warm and cosy.
The country life started to work it’s magic.
I slowly recouperated and became involved in several community groups.
I went back to Uni and completed a Graphic Design course.
Ben Lomond finally got an internet connection and I was able to do most of my design work at home. I was starting to enjoy the little things in life again.
I am now fit and (almost) healthy, living the country life, writing and illustrating.
I sometimes miss the excitement of city living and I often feel the urge to move back to a larger community, but for now, this is my home. I have learnt that the grass is always greener when I nourish it. So for now at least, I am nourishing my soul and immersing myself in the people dearest to me.
The country life really is a ‘vase full of flowers’.
This is a little drawing I did (AI) initially, for a business card. I got a lot carried away and it became an abstracty-type farm scene.
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Meet my fave little elephant – Elle …
I created Elle with a combination of digital Illustration and watercolour painting art …
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In 1983 I was invited to go to Noosa with a ‘group’ of new acquaintances for a weekend at no charge. Hmm, I thought, I wonder what the ‘catch’ is. I soon found out – the group of friends were there to camouflage an affair between an older married woman and younger man.
We were all booked into two adjoining ‘family rooms’ and we HAD to get out of the room ASAP. Stupid me.
The weekend was awful and inadvertently to the ‘grand plan’ this woman had, the lesser of us mortals formed a friendship that got us through the weekend – we were young, broke and reliant on accommodation and transport.
I sat out on the verandah on that first evening, and I wrote this prose:
‘Exactly how it is‘
♥
Still breeze, grey skies,
Swaying trees, birds fly.
Tar road, black as the sun,
I sit here and chew gum.
♥
Pink Hotel, green shutters,
beach towels, girls tutter.
Plastic chair, plastic cup,
Man’s sexy, removal truck.
♥
I.N.S.P.E.C.T. N.O.W. in red squares,
Mother screams, high-chair.
Kite flies,
red train,
Picture stares, blank frame.
♥
Music plays, skies still grey,
The bird flies, the tree still sways.
I still sit, the gums gone,
Cigarette alight, the coffee’s on.
♥
New line, new song,
Hotel Pink now transformed.
Towel is dry, girls are gone,
sunset moon, brightly shone.
♥
Mum is crying, babe is tired.
People sit, TV’s wired,
Ten p.m. my pen is worn,
Time to dream, a new song.
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We all want World Peace right?
This is a digital illustration of ‘Liza’ – a nickname my mother gave me – from the song ‘There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza’. She sang this to me when I would say: ‘Mum, I have nothing to do’ lol.
The name stuck and now I ‘draw’ my on my mother’s humour – this one is with a message.
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This is Liza. I drew this as a Birthday card for a friend.
I was going to set the entire cake on fire, but that would be rude lol 🙂
Liza is sure getting around this year …
I am redefining Liza all the time. Liza has a new friend, Kat the Kat, who I think I will make a little more devilish in the next drawing.
Kat the Kat may look fearsome in appearance, but really is purrfect and kind.
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It has taken a few years to grow these succulents to this size, but it takes non-clay (sort of Sandy Soil or free-draining soil) and no nutrient supplements, to grow these beautiful succulents.
This is a photograph that I digitally recreated in AI.
I love the way it came out!
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John Williamson sang the song ‘I wish I could explain how it feels when I’m headin’ up to Queensland. It hits me when I see the sign for Byron Bay’.
Well, that’s EXACTLY how I feel every time I head to Byron Bay … Tropical Fever-er-er !
I headed up to Queensland in 1979 with my sister and we stopped over in Byron Bay.
Fast forward to the 2000’s and I holiday in Byron Bay almost every year, resting, exploring and of course, checking out the art scenes. I hope to be inspired and when I return home, I hope to create some fantastic art … that is, if I can get myself out of the water to actually do some work.
I do know that Jungle and ‘Tropical Fever’ will be featuring in my art and blog this year, but for now, the best I can do is a watercolour background and a blob flower!
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Elizabeth Kerry.com 