I’m Not Drinking That Water Mum

I’m Not Drinking That Water Mum Original Oil on Board 30.5cm x 25cm

Every painting has a story, because Max is a painter of “yarns”, Australian vernacular for a story with a moral and a laugh.  The experiences of those years Max spent in the outback; the memories of growing up in a small country town have provided Max with an endless flow of inspiration for his paintings. His works depict life in the outback as it was then, in a light-hearted vein, keen insight and gentle humour that so keenly illustrates country Australians.

This is Max’s take on kids at home in an outback town just like Thargomindah where Max spent many years in his younger days.  Thargomindah is a one town pub, and it is run by ‘Surly Shirl’ not a lady to be messed with.  Many of the elements in this work remind us of days gone by, the Wooden weatherboard house clad with corrugated iron roof, the old-fashioned water tank, which in many areas were the only source of drinking water…but in this case used as a swimming pool which the sister is objecting to, and mum is laying down the law. 

Water tanks are a vital resource on properties in rural areas of Australia where scheme drinking water is not available. In most cases your water tanks will be filled with rainwater from your roof but in some cases your tanks may be connected to bore water or filled with water from a water carting service.  Following these simple tips and hints about careful collection and storage of water will help you to make sure that water from water tanks on your property is safe to drink and fit for its intended use.  Rainwater can be contaminated by bird and other small animal droppings (for example lizards, mice, frogs, and possums) other debris including dead animals and insects containing microscopic organisms, smoke or other emissions from bushfires or wood heaters.

A scrawny dog, which is almost Max’s unofficial signature.  Max says: “When I was 16, I left home and went droving in Southwest Queensland around Quilpie. Back in those days our only mode of travel was on horseback and usually leading a Pack horse. There were three of us and the cook, and the three of us were responsible for the herd, about six hundred to a thousand beasts.”

Original Oil on Board by Max Mannix