ARTIST STATEMENT
To me art is a type of recreation, in the sense of ‘re-creation’, the ability to discover new aspects of oneself – and of a mostly bright and cheery world.
I live in Perth, Western Australia – I was brought up at Scarborough Beach and I think the vast vistas of gorgeous blue ocean, bright golden sand, and deep blue skies created a symphony of colour that attuned my eye to images, tones and rich colour.
The legacy of the Cave Paintings of Lascaux (which date from 17000 years ago), and the even-older Indigenous cave paintings of Australia, attest to the importance that humanity places on “mark making”.
We can see that the biggest ‘mark making’ that humanity participates in is the building of structures: cities, railways, roadways and habitats. Thus it is that I am particularly attracted to urban settings – it may be no coincidence that this leads on to the word “urbane”, meaning developed to a higher level, which is what I seek to do in my art.
I have completed two Diplomas of Art: one at the former Newcastle College of Advanced Education (now the University of Newcastle), and one at Newcastle Art School (Tafe). King Lear said to the effect that “Nothing comes of nothing” – but the reverse applies when one has excellent art teachers.
A habit can be a ‘good’ habit, or a ‘bad’ habit and I must confess that for my imagery I mostly prefer the lower-orders: the mean streets of Darlinghurst, the cobble-stone alleys of Fitzroy, the garbage bins of Bondi. I enjoy seeing a scene and attempting to capture its spirit in my art work. I take pleasure in creating works of an optimistic and colourful nature -- but just as ‘black’ must exist for ‘white’ to have meaning, I occasionally feel the need to produce some art work of a darker tone.