I'm an Australian artist and I predominatly paint or draw but also use photoshop etc to play with photos or to see what may potentionally become a painting and sound out my ideas. As I slowly add more and more images I hope you will give me plenty of feedback.BIO We live in a time where technology has become so advanced that you no longer even need a camera to produce amazing images. For the commercial world technology is the future, for it will embrace this new medium with open arms, however I am constantly amazed at the number of artists that still use traditional mediums and methods simply because they want to.
I am one of those people, who has a compelling desire that borders on an insane obsession to paint and draw. My pictures, although appearing realistic and simple at first glance become more complex the more you delve into the image and also create a story or better still raise questions.
I like to draw the viewer in, trap them with curiosity until they think what the hell is going on here. Sometimes my work is politically motivated, or pure fantasy Sometimes I know exactly what Im going to paint, or I just start and let the trained eye slowly pick that stroke of paint or colour that is forming an interesting direction or composition. I just play on those bits until the story seems to just come out of the brush. The description I feel most comfortable with is
surrealist, as I paint in a realistic manner but the situation may be totally unrealistic. I like the fact that I can create a world that does not exist but comes from imagination. I believe imagination is the key to society because it enables us to see the future and create it or divert it.
My traditional academic and self taught skills, enables me to paint in a manner that is universally understood and the skill and dedication is clearly visible to the viewer, something that is not seen enough these days. My paintings do not need a long, superlative filled pretencious description. I feel so many contemporary paintings are no more than decorative patterns designed to match the curtains. Galleries are filled with this meaningless pumped out decor with very little pride and skill attached, this is simply flooding the art world, purchased solely because the gallery owners say it is good art.
My aim is to bring art back to the people. The people who purchase it not because they know good art or bad art but because they know what they like and can see the human endeavour and desire that went into creating it. This is one of the principal objectives of the Zooid Art Movement of which I am a founding member.
Painting has been and still is a successful way of recording history, but I feel it is also an integral part of human endeavour, the need to achieve excellence in creation.
Graeme W. Balchin
Comments (21)
ruana
WOW!!!!! i dont think i should move the outback any more!!!! those things are HUGE!!!!!! i dont want to know how much a bite hurts from one of those! awesome pics!!!
delbeke
Nice guys to have around your garden party lol Now I know why I don't live in Australia! lol
graemeb
These spiders are not in the out-back we live on the coast one hour from Sydney
Boofy
Glad those funnelwebs are up there with you Northerners! Although Melbourne has its own share of nasties. Great/horrible pics there. Glad you had the nerve to work with them. I would be shaking at the first glance. The POV of the last one is a beauty. Jen
gunsan
Hehe, I will NOT show this to my daughter, she panics for spiders. Self I am more indifferent, but would not change my sweet bathroom spider to one of these. Look just so dangerous!! Fantastic capture you made here!! So clear and crisp!
Kath13
After looking at these images I see that you chose the perfect title for them. Ugh, nasty looking things (nice shots though), glad we don't get anything like that in the UK.
chc16
Gosh, between those and those dingos, how do you manage?
Biffowitz
Holy cow, looks like they got some serious biting equipment. Intriguing captures!!
mark.spooner
Scary monster! Nice series!
kjpweb
Yikes - they do look nasty! Good shots!
xsanchez1975
bonita foto... (pero de quien la toma)
stormsong
Excellent find and captures! :) I love macros, especially those of spiders. I've read and watched several shows about these spiders. I do not want to get a bite from them. Very nasty!!
juca
Great pictures e POV.
ppetersen
Those are some scarey spiders!!!! Awesome shots all of them... one can see the fine hairs on them ... outstanding photographs.
ARTWITHIN
OMG! A big tarantula scared me badly when I was a child and I've never liked spiders since. This is a great capture of some really scary critters. They look like "terrorist" to me! Hehehe! the two in the foreground are amazing. I swear I see the face of someone I know! LOL! Look at those pinchers. I was curious about the title, how would it apply. Now, I see clearly, the nasty bastards! Eeek! x:P
shahlaa
Makes me shudder just looking at them...I am terrified of bugs, any bugs, especailly spiders...they most deffinately look like they could do some serious damage...after looking at these I don't think I can honestly say that the spiders here in USA look so bad, they'd probably run if they met up with the ones you shared with us...excellent capture
akulla
Very cool, nice eight legged friends.
Riquelme8
I just hate spiders and these ones looks soooo damn ugly and nasty! Creepy as hell:) But forget my personal feelings, very nice photos:D
JackieD
Urk! Looking at your spiders reminded me of something weird that happened to me a few nights ago. About 2am I was lying awake 'cause it was too hot to sleep, and I heard a single pure note, as though someone had tapped the side of a crystal glass next to my bed. I switched on the bedside light to see what it could be, and noticed a quick movement on my bed. It was a Huntsman spider so big his legs stuck out inches either side of my shoe when I was trying to squash him. What's really weird is that there's nothing in my room which can make the noise I heard, and if I hadn't heard it I wouldn't have switched on the bedside light..and I shudder to think where the spider could have ended up!
lior
Awesome shots!So impressiv render too!
FCLittle
Very nice capture....I can see some little spiderlings on the funnel-web!