May 24, 2012

Having a 'Boy Look'








In  Australia we have what is called 'having a boy look'.
A good example is where a man goes to the fridge looking for the beers he knows he left there the day before.  Yet even though he stands in front of the fridge for ten minutes looking and looking, he cannot, for the life of him, find his beers.

Eventually he'll slap his thigh and shout into the next room to his wife:
'Hey love where's my beer? Ya didn't drink it did ya?'
And then the wife will shout back: 'Naah, didn't touch it'
'Well I cant see it! You musta moved it if you didn't drink it'

At this invariably the wife will sigh loudly and drag herself away from the TV (unless she is watching Oprah,  in  which case she will wait for an ad break), go into the kitchen, swing open the refrigerator door and lay her hands on her husband's beers laying in plain sight.

She will then say to her husband, without a hint of irony :
'Well love, you musta had a boy look, eh?'

I know this doesn't happen in other countries of course, just here. ;)






But seriously, thank you for the kind well wishes. I am still in my brace. The six weeks will be up on Monday and hopefully I will be back on the keyboard then.

At the moment I am still using my left hand for everything. Which is why I am writing rubbish.

But I had two epiphanies yesterday.






Firstly I discovered that if I hold a knife in my right hand (the one that is secured in the brace) and I hold a tomato in my other hand, then,even though I cannot move my right arm and shoulder, I can cut the tomato by swinging my hips so that my right hand goes back and forth like a pendulum- and with it the knife.

Go on, try cutting a tomato with only one hand - I dare you. And you'll see what I mean.

 Admittedly at first I tried to skewer the tomato in place by sticking a metal skewer through it and pinning it to a bread board - but that didn't work because it was a plastic breadboard and the skewer kept bouncing of it.

 I also tried holding the tomato down on the bread board with my nose while I cut slices off it (the tomato), but after ten minutes I only had two slices, neither of which I could convince my wife to put on her sandwich.

I don't know why.

After all I had washed my nose before hand.

I guess she just wasn't hungry.






Oh these images? They are Bo Peep.
She hasn't lost her beers - she's lost something else.
I guess she's just having a 'boy look'.

thanks again for your kindness.
I'll have to tell you about the other epiphany next time.....
ps if you click the images they get big








Oh almost forgot to say that the genesis for this image is Bruegel's The Blind Leading the Blind.
Bosche and Breugel being two of my favourite painters of course :)







31 comments:

  1. Hello, brave man!!! You haven't lost your sense of humour and, thanks, God,! you didn't cut it in the long operation for cutting the poor tomato! (I guess it wasn't that delicious, otherwise you would have had an additional motif to eat it!) :0)))))
    I like the mystery in this drawing... The mist for a background makes it deeper. Tne sward, the pipe, the rope, the white birds... All these details make my imagination work, which is something I like!
    By the way, sometimes we also have a "boy look" in our family, so don't worry - you are not the only one...:)))
    I hope everything with you will be all right on Monday - fingers crossed!!!
    And thank you (and your left hand) for writing here to us!:) Take care, Andrew!!!

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  2. Aaaawwww NAdrew! What an experience you are having. I would just go crazy and you have indeed not lost your sense of humor at all! Six weeks will be a sort of liberation day for you. Wow, these illustrations are something else. Oh yes, Bo Peep lost herself, eh? The first illustrations remind me of Madonna's "Strike a Pose." Those boys look like girls or those girls look like boys. Ack! So confusing. I used to look like them when I was a toddler when my bald head, so that is probably why I thought they were endearing. These are superb. You infused them with details that stimulate my brain. Thanks for the well wishes. And thank you for reminding me of air conditioning. I cannot help it, the homes and buildings here are all airconditioned. I need to turn off the fan.

    Take care some more. Six weeks will be here soon and you will be free!!! You can scratch your head, your nose or wherever else you want to scratch. TSUP!

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  3. Oh I forgot. Breugel and Bosch are also my favorites!

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  4. This clarification made me look from another angle at the picture!
    Oh, and I remembered, that "once upon a time" at my exam of "Art history" at the Theatre Academy, I had to speak about Bosch...:)

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  5. Hi Andrew
    when I started looking at the second picture , first thought which came into my head was about Bruegel. And yes, reading your story to the end confirmed that.
    Your "slicing-tomato "story brings big smile on my face!!! I can see you how you are trying to fasten a metal skewer into the tomato. But on the other hand, frankly told , I am not really jealous about your metal screws in your shoulder .

    I hope when you will reveal the second epiphany to us your shoulder is than 100% OK!!

    PS: smoking monkey is good choice !!
    see you

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  6. Visiting for the first time and I'm here to stay ;). Your work is out of this world!

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  7. Your nose-tomato moment is well worth describing. And I did wonder, for a moment there, what had been sliced. Glad in the end it WAS the tomato. I am however going to restrain the impulse to give it a try. With and without the pins. My cutting board is plastic too. Connections between your Bo Peep and the Bruegel create a mental hum. Glad you posted that. Cheering you on, brace and all. Good luck working through the stiffness.

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  8. Love those sheep! I just want to jump into that image and tour around...love the atmosphere you've created.

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  9. Oh thank you for the entertaining description of your tomato slicing adventures. You gave me a nice giggle and a great big smile. Love the images, you are very talented to be drawing these with your nose ;)

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  10. What was the second epiphany?

    I never heard the phrase "boy look" before, but it is SO TRUE. I feel like I'm the only person in my house who can ever find anything. I started telling my sons that I would look for whatever it was they were looking for if they'd give me a dollar if it was in plain sight (which it almost always was). Why should this be the case?

    Anyway, I love your images--the light of them. They're beautiful. (And I hope Monday comes soon for you).

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  11. Why not just eat the tomato like an apple? I bet you figured out how to open the beer once your wife found it for you! More seriously, I've been wondering how you've been faring and wishing you a speedy recovery. Can you please promise to behave yourself enough to avoid more medical problems now? I always love your illustrations, but especially loving the landscape the sheep.

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  12. HAHAHAHA! Oh my, I have never thought of gyrating while slicing a tomato. It's MUCH more fun than wiggling a tomato back and forth under a stationary knife.

    Highly intriguing image! It makes me feel like I am watching a Shakespearean play, for some reason. Or Andrew Lloyd Weber. I want them all to start breaking out in song, monkey included. And the scenery with all the little lambs is hauntingly beautiful!

    My mom just broke her arm bone clear across above her elbow and had surgery today. I'll tell her about your tomato slicing tip. Happy Liberation!!! Yahoooo!!!

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  13. Have just discovered your blog via Blog Train. Great art - loving the colours and style. And witty too! Highly entertaining, looking forward to following.

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  14. haunting! mysterious! and amazing! wowie! zowie!
    found you through blog train . . . glad i stopped by. i will be back soon.

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  15. Happy to know that soon you'll be better:)Your new illos are amazing and love the girls expressions:)About the boy look we don't have this expression here but my boyfriend often don't see things that are there under his nose,too funny:)

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  16. why do you like the word 'epiphany' so much?
    just asking...

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  17. These are freaking fantastic - particularly the top one! It's not surprising that I enjoy your work - I'm a fan of the Breugels (Sr., & Jr.). Bosch is great - but sometimes really out there!

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  18. Tomato for your sandwich? You should do it my way. Put it under a plate, and...hayyyaah!!!!! Perfectly flat tomato with oozing natural juices. Hehe. :))

    Anyway, that is the most rambunctious looking girl I've ever seen. Or is it the girliest looking boy instead? Well, I don't know, that pipe smoking monkey stole the limelight for me.

    Hope you're feeling better, my friend. oxx

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  19. Oh my gosh, I enjoyed this post on so many levels. first, I'm thrilled that your recovery is underway. I'm way behind on blog visits, so I'm also selfishly happy that I haven't missed many posts. The "boy look" phrase may be Australian, but the concept is universal. I can't wait to use that phrase in my house. I tell my husband that if I want to see a certain food item consumed, I just have to move it to the front of the refrigerator shelf that is at eye level, and it will be eaten within the hour. Your interpretation of the Bo Peep nursery rhyme is fabulous, as always, but the tomato-slicing story had me laughing out loud. It could easily be a scene in a movie...so, so funny. Uh oh, now I'm sitting here hoping it was SUPPOSED to be funny, and that I haven't been insensitive to your one-handed plight. Continued speedy recovery, Andrew!

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  20. Such a funny post! I hope you're feeling better these days :) I love the pic with the sheep and the way the castle is set back in the beautiful landscape. Your work is inspiring as always. PS-- My poor husband has the same "Boy Look thing" I guess it's contagious! I wish you wouldn't have spread it all the way over here in the States! Feel Better!

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  21. Estimado y dulce amigo hace mucho que no recorría este camino, siempre me maravilla y me deja gratas impresiones sobretodo cuando meto mi nariz en los detalles de tu trabajo.
    Alguno de tus trabajos me recuerda un libro del cual solo rescate fotocopias y que me fascina llamado Cobijo, su título original es Shelter impreso en 1979. Es un paseo detallado por los variados tipos de construcciones desde un punto de vista artesanal, alojamientos sencillos de materiales naturales e inventiva humana. Promueve la alegría de la autosuficiencia y la libertad. Cobijo, algo más que un techo sobre la cabeza.

    Multiples besos para ti
    AOC.

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  22. Andrew, I miss you!(for some reason, this is coming out of my head in a sing song way) Tell your shoulder to get better so you can come out to play :)

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  23. Hi man of Oz.I hope you did not experiment again with an other tomato, your nose and skewer!! Please, tell me if you like to decorate your sandwich with slices of juicy and sweet tomato. I can help you.
    If you are traveling to the Kingdom of The Artichoke , just stop by for a little talk and big glass of shiraz.
    Missing your posts with your wonderful art!!!!


    Take care , see you later.

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  24. Well, good morning! What a pleasant surprise! I am happy to see you this morning! Thank you for reminding me to dot my eyes. :) Tsup!

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  25. Je suis aussi heureuse que ma chère Ces de te retrouver et de savoir que tu résistes...
    J'espère que la rééducation n'est pas trop difficile, si il y a...
    Il va falloir apprendre à utiliser les robots ménagers pour trancher les légumes de toute sorte!...
    Je pense que ce mauvais passage dans ta vie va te donner beaucoup d'inspiration dans de futures illustrations... Ne serait-ce pour nous montrer comment tu t'y prenais dans la vie de tous les jours.

    gros bisous à toi...
    Patience encore... compte tes moutons ! sourire...

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  26. I have missed you dear Andrew! Hope you are doing well..I am so thankful for your kind visit recently. Goodness you have been through so much. These are wonderful illustrations..so detailed! I embiggened them and just love all of the detail and sense of space and light in your work. I especially enjoyed spying the little fox (or doggie?) in the forest-stream illustration. Beautiful! I laughed out loud checking out your smoking monkey!! Excellent work. I can't imagine why your dear wife wouldn't want your sliced tomatoes. : ) I hope everything is healing nicely and you are back out on your board in no time. All is good here..we are enjoying summer so far and looking forward to a nice getaway soon..details to come. : ) Wishing you rest, happiness with your dear wife and time to work on your craft. We have missed you!!

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  27. maybe you should buy iphone and play that online game with me.
    arent you bored there???

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  28. Haha...the boy look...yes, it's happened in this country more than once:)

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Hya! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I appreciate your time and thoughts.