Loping Along

Loping Along Original Oil on Board 38cm x 31cm

Every painting has a story, but 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.

In this scene Max has captured an outback race meeting still held in many small country towns once a year.  It is a big day, the farmers, cow cockies, drovers, and farm hands all come into the local racecourse for the day to watch and bet on the horses at the meet.  In many towns it is the largest event of the year, and not to be missed.  In this scene Max has captured the horses on the back straight the lead horse is Loping along in a very relaxed style, with the others in tow, the jockey happy to lead all the way to the finish line, hence the title, “Loping Along”.  “I’ve always painted people,” said Max…for Max this painting captures a typical scenario at a country race meeting.

Original Oil on Board by Max Mannix