IT'S one of those things you never thought you'd see: a Blackman portrait of wild child Corey. They're not the brush strokes of the august Charles but his talented son Auguste, who has a few kind words to say about the pilloried party boy. "I had parties where 'God help me' if the parents find out," the painter told Diary. "What do you know at that age?" Blackman even revealed that he has a few things in common with the teen. "When I was that age, I didn't know what I wanted. I left school because I wanted to find out what was happening in the big world." Then Blackman said Corey-mania "smacks of Warhol" because Warhol was "fascinated by youth". This portrait, which Corey didn't sit for, went to the teen for his 17th birthday and another two hang in the office of the teen's PR guardian, Max Markson, and will be auctioned for charity. One thing you'd never thought you'd hear is that Corey has been Blackman's muse. "Without that mad thrust of this young kid, I wouldn't have been propelled to paint," the artist said, explaining that he was easing back at the easel after a demanding year of deadlines in 2007. "It's loosened me up and given me some better brushstrokes." Corey's image has been plastered in the tabloids and on the internet but there's nothing quite like having a portrait with the Blackman signature. The painter said Corey wrote him "the sweetest letter" with child-like writing. It said: "It looks mad and I love it. I hope to meet you in person one day and shack (sic) your hand and say thanks. It's not every day you get your own portrait painted from a famous painter. PS: So, I have bad writing." See, Corey is honest.

Believing in Ita

MORE than 25 years have passed since Cold Chisel worshipped Ita Buttrose with the song Ita, but the great Aussie screamer Jimmy Barnes still has the hots for her. The two have never met and, until recently, never spoken, but they hooked up on radio so Ita could say thanks as part of Mix FM's "Thank you Project" (sponsored by sniff-sniff Kleenex). Some outrageous flirting ensued. Barnsey: "We used to fantasise about you. The things we used to think." And songwriter Don Walker, seeing Ita on telly, would say: "Wonder what she's wearing below that desk." Ita lapped up the adoration, admitting that the song made her "cool" to her children. But not that cool that she'd be au naturel from the waist down.

Train of thought

CONNEX is a name we've grown to know and love (OK, scrap the last bit), but it could be the end of the line for the C-word. Parent company Veolia Transport is emerging from the shadows to rebrand the company Connex: A Veolia Transport Company, and it is Veolia, not Connex, that will beg Lynne Kosky to renew its contract. Another indicator that the Connex name may have run out of steam is that Veolia Transport operates worldwide, but Victoria is the only place to use the Connex brand. So, what does Veolia offer? Under its "Ten Commitments", it promises a "punctual journey" that is "as comfortable and as pleasant as possible". That would be a nice change.

In the frame

SO MANY paintings, so many new galleries to hang them. Former footballer Jeremy Dukes is opening his own space, Dukes Gallery, in the Docklands, featuring the surrealist strokes of Zelman Lew, father of girl-about-town Andi Lew. And Barbara Guzzardi, wife of Melbourne Central City Studios chief Sino Guzzardi, has cut the ribbon at Toorak's 36 Jackson Street Gallery, telling Diary the opening was the fulfilment of a dream after turning 60. Barb knows how to throw a party. For her 60th bash, she was serenaded by a Tina Turner impersonator, and for last week's gallery soiree, a Patsy Stone lookalike from Ab Fab kissed and cuddled the guests. Just an ordinary night in Toorak, really.

Not their cuppa tea

PAMPERED Spring Street pollies receive $100,000 to run their electorate offices and bombard hapless constituents with photo-filled leaflets, then there's the free petrol their tanks guzzle, but they found it difficult to dig deep for a morning tea to assist The Cancer Council. Parliament raised a measly $200, meaning the 128 meddlers kicked in an average of $1.56 each, even less when you factor in the amount donated by long-suffering staffers. One explanation: the meddlers were absent and had their snouts in someone else's trough.

An un-real night

HE MAY live in the Big Apple and party with social-lites Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, but Andy Valmorbida craves real people when home in Toorak. Now an art dealer, Andy threw a bash at the Albany Road home of uncle John Valmorbida and wife Michelle on Friday to introduce photographer Raphael Mazzucco to Toorak's finest and facelifted. Andy told Diary: "I like being at home with my real friends. It's hard to get good friends in America. People find it hard to be themselves." Another thing Andy misses about Oz is meat pies, so party pies were served. Well done, for keeping it real in Toorak.