The rivulet flows
gentle as the touch of silk
yet cuts its channel.
Susan Skuse
January 2014
We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
The second part of my time assignment was to bring a more personal aspect to the study of time. I found a picture of myself as a small child at the beach, with my little black kitten. So long ago. I have super-imposed this on a picture of Echo Beach in the morning. The figure is in sepia and white – like the original photo – I’m thinking of it as an echo from another time. I’m wondering if that little girl is still around somewhere, inside this old lady.
The second painting of the pair is a sunset scene with a figure (supposedly me) looking out over the sea towards the setting sun. The day is almost over. So sad. Never mind, I’ve studied philosophy, I’m OK with it.
As part of my current university studies in painting I have recently been investigating the effects of time at a particular place. I have been working on my favorite little beach on the Gold Coast. We’ve always called it Echo Beach — I don’t know if that’s its real name — a tiny little cove nestled into Burleigh Headland on the side of Tallebudgera Creek. For this exercise I have had to paint three sketches each of different times of day, then a more finished painting of each of the three times, then two paintings further exploring the concept of time at that place.