Art and Abart

Watching Harry Kupfer's Ring Cycle: what could be a better way to spend the days between Christmas and New Year. I have a Wagner-loving ...

Figures at a gate : Sculpture s at the Wintergarden I had a Christmas picnic in the Virginia Lake Wintergarden, a magical spot you could...

Black sands at Wanganui beach On a cold and very windy Christmas Day a picnic on the beach in Wanganui (after delivering visitors to th...

Mooo!  Seasons greetings from the hills of Taihape! Hills behind Taihape at dusk

The small town of Hunterville in New Zealand's north island was my mother's home town. On a hill behind the township hidden among la...

Back among the roses in my Mother's garden, my days are spent sorting. Today I found a wonderful surprise right at the bottom of her c...

Is the party only for adults? Yes it's only for adults. Will it just be boring talking? Yes, it will just be boring talking. Okay...

The Lost Gypsy Gallery in Papatowai, southern New Zealand, is a place that, once visited, you will never forget.  I have discovered a li...

"Tread softly Breathe peacefully Laugh hysterically" Nelson Mandela I can't put it better than the ABC: Nelson Mandela ...

Das Rheingold (Photo from ABC website) Listen to the Melbourne Ring Cycle! Broadcasts are available for 48 hours after being aired on t...

Deborah Humble: new portrait  In Melbourne recently Deborah Humble told me she liked one of the sketches I did of her a few months ago ...

From: Otago Daily Times The Goddess of Good Fortune must have been guiding me when I decided to go to Dunedin in New Zealand to study...

Richard Tognetti I am most amused to read the blurb by Richard Tognetti in the 2014 Australian Chamber Orchestra brochure. He writes: ...

Push down the barriers and you are bound to get bad press. A review of the Yoko Ono Exhibition by a Sydney art critic listed her accomplishm...

Yesterday I saw the Yoko Ono exhibition War is Over (If you want it) at the MCA in Sydney. I can usually only last half an hour at art exhi...

Photo from the train: Hawkesbury River with oyster stakes Photo from the train: Hawkesbury River, looking south Travelling by train...

Melbourne shop display They are back, the gollies of yesteryear. So is it politically correct to have a golly again? I have a very lovab...

A rose in my mother's garden It is interesting how the brain reacts when you are in shock or overwhelmed. I am still not sure if it ...

Wunder Bar and Valkyries in Heidhardt's 2004 Adelaide Ring Cycle Elke Neidhardt, director of the first Australian Ring Cycle,  has...

The singing and orchestration was exceptional … so why was the magic missing? Australian Wagnerian singers were gathered from across the g...