The pitch roller.

And another funny little recently completed painting/collage. This one called “the pitch roller” is a painting of a very ancient but entirely practical machine used on the O’Connor Oval to help maintain the cricket pitch. I love the paired down functionality of this machine and the way it is both at odds with, yet entirely at home on the oval. When the burnt orange coloured little roller, driven by the same friendly guy who seems to be there every year (and who is not bothered by the oval dogs), comes out of the shed, it’s a real sign that summer is on the way. The guy and machine are part of the furniture and I get a little bit nostalgic in a ‘bill the steam shovel’ kind of way.

I think it reminds me of working in local council ‘works’ departments back in the day and going to Engineering field days where bikini clad girls would open up the back of a spanking new, shiny garbage truck and the sales rep would pull out a case of beer, “Look what I’ve found here, how surprising”, he would say, throwing a can of beer to my boss, “and here’s a lemonade for the lovely lady”, passing a can of cola my way, (as though that would make me more likely to recommend we spend rate payer’s money on that $500K garbage truck…). Bloody good thing those days have passed really, but I still love these unseen and useful bits of machinery and public infrastructure. Beach cleaning machines, street sweepers and pipe breakers. You may also remember previously painted water tanks and sewerage works so there’s a theme developing here, I just don’t quite know what it is.