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This is how wind turbines should look like.


Melbourne-based artist David Booth (aka Ghostpatrol) is a machine of creativity. Paintings, installation, sculpture, illustration, huge outdoor pieces, he does everything. He doesn't have any formal art training, but his creations appeal to a wide range of ages and tastes. I want to feature all of them, but today I'll focus on his work at Australia's first community-owned wind farm, Hepburn Wind, near Daylesford in Victoria.

About two years ago, David spent a week maneuvering a crane in a paddock in Leonards Hill. With a small team, the Tasmanian-born artist painted a huge image of a girl dressed in green on one of the two wind turbines. Late last year, David and friends returned to paint the other one. The project was crowdfunded by 82 supporters and received a huge amount of in-kind support from the artists and dozens of local businesses.

"I think that painting Gale and Gusto [the names of the two wind turbines] will be one of the things I am most proud of, for a long time to come. I accepted Hepburn Wind's challenge without a second thought, though no one has ever painted a turbine before – it's not easy! Pitching our tents below the blades and giving a face to such an amazing community project is an incredibly humbling experience, and a wonderful thing to give as an artist to a community.

I was so inspired by the community of Daylesford, who welcomed us and showed us the strength of passion required to make a difference in the world and confront the serious issues of energy and our responsibility to the environment. I don't love being in a scissor lift four storeys up, shaking in the wind – but I'd do it again in a heartbeat."






David should paint the turbines of the Bangui Wind Farm, too.
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