[muscle cars and the lady in the hat]

Struggling for time and inspiration to do things arty, I thought I'd get a bit of culture from Artscape 2011 on ABC (iView of course). Sometimes I find the toffee-nosed arty types a bit too much to bear, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the featured artist, Ben Quilty, was just your average 'down-to-earth' bloke, who painted portraits of his mates, and cars, notably his Torana. The way he slaps on the thick paint (by the cartridge) is amazing to watch. It just looks like a big mess, but you step back and can see all the contours, movement and the whole image takes on it's own energy and life.

Elwood Torana No. 7 (2003)

Paul's Falcon (2009)

Ben also happened to win the Archibald Prize this year, for his portrait of artist Margaret Olley (pictured below with Ben and his two kids). It's not the first time her portrait has won the Archibald - she was the subject of William Dobell's 1948's winning portrait. Sadly Margaret passed away in July this year, aged 88, but she was there on opening night to celebrate Ben's win.