After 50km’s

After 50 km’s, December 2022
Oil on plyboard
46cm x 61cm x 2.5cm
$200
After 50k’s your legs feel like the muscles are melting, which is how I’ve depicted Kim’s (pictured) legs. You feel sore, but probably elated. Not at running 50 kms, but at finishing and not having to run any further. Some people who are better suited to long distance running than myself or Kim, probably look and feel quite fresh at 50kms and like they did at 10kms.
Apart from trying to capture, in some cartoon like way, the essence of fatigue in the figure of Kim, I was also interested in the shadow in all three of these running related paintings. In this one, I like how myself as a helper and observer (and as photographer and painter) is alluded to in the shadow in the bottom right corner. A reminder of my presence as a supporter (and our mutual support for each other) in our life’s journey together.
Kim and I have often discussed how great (and mediocre) men talk about how they have done it (the event, the job, the achievement), for “their family”. Bullshit. You do it because you want to, because you can and often,  because it gives you time away from your family.