“By the back door”
My latest painting features a driza bone jacket and an akubra hat hanging on an old hat rack on a corrugated iron wall. It is titled “By the back door.”
I love my akubra!! It sits in the library now, in inner city Brisbane and sadly it doesn’t make too many public appearances. But it has a very special place in my heart. To the untrained eye, it may look like an old worn out hat that’s completely ready to hit the tip - but there is something quintessentially Australian about a well worn akubra hat. The oil stains and sheep dip splashes all tell a story of more than a few days spent in the yards at shearing time , or on the bike or horse out in the paddock bringing in a mob of cattle or sheep.
The untrained eye may also be completely unaware that Graziers and farmers can tell an enormous amount about each other simply by the shape of their hat. After graduating from uni I shared a house with a fabulous friend. She had grown up in central Queensland on a large cattle property. She absolutely delighted in teasing me about my akubra, suggesting it was a total sheep cockeys hat ……. It probably is but that just makes me love it more. Whether you prefer a wide floppy brim, a short crown , or a leather band, the akubra is as Australian as a pair of riding boots or a Bundy Rum. And the graziers and farmers who wear these hats and work tirelessly will always have my utmost admiration and a very special place in my heart. As the saying goes, you can take the girl out of the country but you can never take the country out of the girl. So you see, there’s the inspo for my latest painting…….. it’s a little bit of country.