#post paint

Sydney artist and musician, Bligh Twyford-Moore, better known as Total Bore or Post Paint (depending on what creative guise he is in at the time), has been floating around the traps for a few years now. Bligh's folktronica band, Post Paint, of which he is the singer and guitarist, has seen him perform often this year, however, it's his work on the canvas as Total Bore that has caught This Is The Golden Age's attention. His striking, and sometimes confronting, mixed media portraits have a life of their own and an original voice that is not often seen in someone in their early twenties. Total Bore's portrait of Bill Murray (yes, that Bill Murray) was the inspiration behind Sydney Fringe's Bill Murrathon, a month-long tribute to the great actor, held at local brewery-come-bar, Young Henrys. We caught up with Bligh to find out how Bill Murrathon came to be. 

Bill Murray’s awesomeness requires no explanation, but why do you think he is awesome enough to deserve Bill Murrathon? 

Garfield.

How did Young Henrys and the Sydney Fringe get involved in this project? 

I was picking up a beer order for a friend's restaurant at their brewery in Newtown. I think at this stage I was really fixated with instagram and had it open while they were filling the bottles. The barman, Oscar, noticed my painting of Murray and things went from there.

The Bill Murrathon has requested that guests submit an artistic representation of Bill Murray in any medium. Have you had any submissions that have knocked your socks off?

Across the board the submissions have been amazing. I think that there is something in the landscape Bill Murray's face that lends itself to good appropriations. He expresses all the isolation and ennui of a 62-year-old party-crashing bachelor without ever seeming sad or uncool.

I’ve seen a few of your Bill Murray portraits, they really capture the spirit of the man, while also staying true to your original voice. Does your influence or process change when painting such a well known figure?

The simplest explanation of my practice is that I am a deeply literal artist. I am afraid of being creative. I look for images in order to have something to paint, rather than painting in order to create image. If I painted more like a photo-realist these works would look more like the photos. I just don't really have that skill-set and so the little shortcuts I make give these paintings a style. 

As for painting Bill Murray, I'd hope not to be affected by his being a well known figure. I try to treat all my subjects in the same way.

Will your Bill Murray portraits be on display at Young Henry’s? Can we expect a Total Bore exhibition of sorts? 

Yeah sure, I'll have a couple of works on the wall but it's definitely a group show. I just had a little bit of a hand in the curating the thing.

What’s next for Total Bore/Post Paint?

For Total Bore, look out for the opening afternoon of the Bill Murrathon, 3PM Saturday September 7th (election day), at the Young Henrys Brewery. 

For Post Paint come along to Bill Murray's Birthday on Saturday September 21st at the Young Henrys Brewery. We're going to be playing the songs from our normal set with alternating intrusions of music from Bill Murray movies including a bunch of instrumentals from the Royal Tennenbaums, Cocaine by Eric Clapton and the Ghostbusters theme!

Dear Internet.

I've had a really fucking all time terrible last couple days. My band's new song 'Treasured Property' is at 51 in the jjj unearthed indie music charts. This is unrelated. But it's also the only thing that's gotten me out of bed today. Please listen and share. It means a lot.

Post Paint - Fox & Hound

Love love love love love this. I stumbled upon this band only last night and I love their sound. How to describe...? Hmm it's clear that I'm never going to be a professional music reviewer because I'm not great at the description stuff. I just want to say listen to this. Listen to this and I'll give you some biographical details. Post Paint are based in Newcastle and Sydney, and according to their unearthed page they are made up of 'Various artists.' Bio rephrase time! The world is complex and Post Paint wish to explore that complexity rather than understate it. They use a classical intrumentation (violin, bassoon, trumpet, double bass and harmonium) along with a conventional back-line (conventional instruments here). Every live show is unique due to their use of live experimentation and looping. Okay, that's enough rephrasing.