Art and Abart

Picnic in New Zealand, about 1940. My grandmother is bottom right and mother standing by the tree. Late last year I took lots of photos ...

The Tristan Chord, the beginning of modernist atonal music. Here the wonderful Stefan Mickisch explains the Tristan Chord to Stephen Fry. ...

Simon O'Neill as Otello  with Lianna Haroutounian as Desdemona. Photograph: Branco Gaica/Opera Australia On Wednesday I saw Otell...

Whale with baby (image from Wikipedia) I have just seen a live whale. It is swimming with a mate off my local beach in NSW as I write. ...

Last week I saw Piano Quintets performed by Paavali Jumppanen and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Here is a video to show you how good...

Maribor Festival website Wooo hooo ... the Maribor Music Festival is on again in September and I am going. I can't wait.  It is a...

Old seal from the Miele oven I had to replace a rubber seal on a Miele oven this week. I rang the company to order a new one but I di...

View from the bed A one night stay in the music room was what I planned when I arrived in Sydney last Thursday, but I hadn't recko...

Freshwater beach Watercolour on Arches paper On Saturday I was at Freshwater Beach on Sydney's north shore where the water was dott...

"Accept the children the way we accept trees--with gratitude, because they are a blessing--but do not have expectations or desires...

Passion fruit flower It is already June but the passion fruit plant in my garden continues to produce flowers and fruit. It is as confus...

Sayo Lipman plays harp Pearl Beach, 8/6/14 The last few months have been very musical for me and I have sketched as I listened. I ha...

Roger Benedict with Viola (and Simon Tedeschi in background) Last night Roger Benedict, Principal Viola with the Sydney Symphony Orche...

Alone, walking up the fire trail from Pearl Beach this morning, I marvel at the colours and the winter stillness. It takes about thirty min...

Stephen Mould on piano, Deborah Humble singing On Wednesday Deborah Humble sang lieder by Brahms, Wagner (Wesendonck Lieder) and a long...

Fancy silver coffee pots, once very popular and now found in antique and op shops, were the basis for these intaglio prints. These were prin...

Coffee pots for my coffee shop. I framed up a couple of intaglio print and ink collaged coffee pots for the wall of my local cafe this wee...

There are heros in Australia as well as creeps (last post) and one of them is the businessman David Gonski.  David Gonski is the gentleman...

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's minders must have had their job cut out making him look like a man you could trust.  After presenting a bud...

Australian budget ructions are gathering speed .... so a bit of musical humour hits the spot. A concert with a difference...