More Bauple

My short-term home at Bauple in 1981. It has never felt better to walk barefoot in the grass. Imposing Mt. Bauple was on the opposite side of the highway, a canefield on the back boundary and a pleasant view (drawn many times) over another. Three hectares including a spring-fed "billabong" (the name I labelled the property) but no fresh water, only a bore. Nearest town for serious supplies, Tiaro, also housed an outlet for arts & crafts where my postcards and our greeting cards sold readily to tourists and locals. Another outlet in Bauple sold a few of my fine art pieces, a Maryborough exhibition sold another and led to a couple of commissions. A good spot for a bit or R & R.
After about 4 months, however, loneliness at night became overwhelming and income was not consistent. Then we got word that Slattery Creek was not wanted by Aussie newspapers. We had no capital at the time to self-publish as a book (no kickstarter then, folks). What to do next?

Bauple, 1981.

Some marriages make it, others don't. We sold up and split up - amicably- in December, 1980 and went our own ways. It became convenient for me to move to be near the Morrows, now re-located in Queensland, where Bob and I could continue our joint effort without relying on the postal service to relay ideas and progress drawings. Emails were not even thought of in those days. I left Brisbane for a tiny town called, Bauple, midway between Gympie and Maryborough, Qld. where Bob and Anne and their two boys, Simon and Marc had landed. I found a small allotment there as a home where I continued the panels for "Slattery Creek", dashed off a few postcards (each an original in guache) and fine art pieces in pen and ink for the local market and exhibitions. None worthy survive.

While we waited for Sol Shifrin to market our strip, Bob and I developed a series of black and white Greeting Cards featuring slightly caricatured Australian wildlife. Illustrations for the cards were in pen and ink.

I have to tell you that this little place was a blessed relief from city life for the next five months! It also proved to be providential when loneliness eventually caught up. That story will follow later.

 

Slattery Creek, 1980.

When my full-time cartooning job with Nationwide Souvenirs evaporated, It was not so much, "Back to the drawing board" for me, but "keep on with the drawing board" where, meanwhile, the first story in the planned "Slattery Creek" series was nearing completion. Here are some of the panels:

Things were taking an interesting turn in that area as my writer collaborator, Bob Morrow, decided to move his wife and two boys from Adelaide to Queensland!

Nationwide Souvenirs -1980

Still in my "wilderness years," part-time freelancing in Brisbane, I was commissioned by Nationwide Souvenirs in late 1978 to do several T-shirts designs. They featured drawings of Australian Pub buildings from photos, to be screen printed. All orders were solicited for the business by a travelling salesman engaged by NS. The sales were successful enough to warrant employing me as a full-time artist.

As summer drew to a close, demand for T-shirts diminished. Unfortunately, not a single drawing has been preserved. It is a bit late now to try visiting the pubs (if I could remember them) to see if any prints remain! We switched to producing screen prints of military insignia and naval vessels and a few cartoons onto inexpensive mirrors as our winter line. The mirrors were a bit dark as they consisted of  glass tinting sheets adhered to one side of the glass, overlaying the screen printed reversed image. Sales were not bad but  not enough to keep the flow. The business capital evaporated before the proceeds materialised. 'No time to solicit lots of orders before it went under.

 

Punters Glossary - 1979

One of the writers who responded to my advert in the Australian Journalists magazine was John Duthie from Lake Macquarie. He had devised a funny commentary on horse and dog racing terms. I enjoyed illustrating them as a series called, "Punters Glossary."

Here are some of them: