Art and Abart

I am a sucker for Ikea build-it-yourself furniture. My favorite toy as a child was a Meccano set and Ikea is Meccano for adults. I doubt I w...

The Australian Chamber Orchestra is a phenomenon. Last week I saw them play a concert of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven 's Grosse Fuge ...

When I was in Paris last year one of the few things I bought was some tea from the Dammann Tea shop.  It was labeled Earl Grey Yin  Zhen I ...

Back to things more prosaic -  in this case, guttering. The gutters on this old house were long past their replace-date and when they were r...

Kurtis: acrylic on canvas 100 x 70 cm My portrait of eleven year old Kurtis is finished. It is a large work (though not ginormous) but ...

Last week when I heard the Katie Noonen singing with the Brodsky Quartet (broadcast from Brisbane by ABC ClassicFM) I was sorry I hadn't...

When I saw that the Omega Ensemble had put Wagner's Tristan and Isolde Vorspiel and Lebenstod at the beginning of their concert program...

Captain Cook .  St Kilda Park, Melbourne. If you stand on a pedestal, sooner or later this is what will happen to you. You'd loo...

There are two ways to get to Melbourne airport from the city. You can take the speedy private Skybus for $18 or you can take public transpo...

Before the show Level 1 stairwell Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne is worth visiting even if you are not going  to a show. It...

Melbourne- you feel as if you are in concrete jungle, but cross the road and suddenly you are in an oasis winding along the Yarra river. ...

Rebecca Chan  is a remarkable musician whom I had heard as part of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) which she was a member of for fi...

St Kilda Beach Park There was a cold wind blowing on the St Kilda Beach this evening, a wind that is obviously a fixture as the trees in...

Melbourne is more relaxed than Sydney and it has a network of interesting inner city laneways  lined with shops who take the art of window ...

Red finger-sofa with cushions and cat. St Kilda, Melbourne's seaside suburb, is an eclectic mix of people and styles typified I thi...

I have been very surprised to find that many Melbourne baristas don't know what coffee beans they are using. I am one of that percentage...

A good guide at an art exhibition can make the difference between an ordinary experience and a wonderful tour of discovery. I was lucky enou...

Eleven year old Kurtis is the subject of a portrait I have been working on for the last month or so. It is a large canvas, 700 x 1000cm, and...

Sand Angel This Easter weekend I learned how to make a sand- angel. Here's how:

Yes, rabbits do lay Easter eggs