Mud, Gate and Gibbet
106 x 136 cms 2004
In this version of Mud I needed the big, tall tree with the weight of the dead hanging foxes anchored by the strong diagonal pushing back up from the bottom, scored through by the dominantly horizontal top bar of the gate. But the consequent narrative - 'you go through the mud, through the gate, past death, across the paddock, into the hills, find peace, etc' was entirely wrong.
Then a neighbour burned off his barley stubble, exposing this wonderful broken fence line, a crow found our dog's bone right outside the window, so I got some good close photos of it, and I added a solid lump of truck, all halting the movement into the hills. I had fun with the fence post as I enjoy the concept of something so rotten holding up such a large, heavy gate.
**As well as more notes on the Compare Mud and the Trucks Page there is also a comparison of my development in painting the Mount Lofty Ranges on the Compare Hills Page.
