Tree and Ball
41 x 51 cms 1997/2002
This is the original tree. The backboard was my son, Brian's - he got it in a Showbag and tied it into the tree right by my studio at a property we had at Currency Creek, SA., some 3 years before the photo was taken. I passed it every day until I suddenly saw the bound-up shape of it, photographed it (I don't sit outside and paint) and did the painting.
The lettering was irrelevant but I wanted to capture the frozen timelessness of the falling ball balanced by a distant crow, tied together by a distorted tree and crimson baler twine.
Although I have photographed hundreds of sunsets it is surprisingly rare to find a 'good' one, particularly with that vertical zigzag shape. It happened in a northerly airstream just before a change.