Top 10 Bluethumb Art Emerging artists for 2025/6.
Gary is an emerging artist (the #6 Emerging Artist for FY 25/26) who found the joy of painting after fulltime retirement, and is now enjoying creating colourful and vibrant abstract pieces from his home in Melbourne’s southeast.
Working with acrylics on canvas or wood, he has strong detail in abstract layering, encouraging viewers to experience these very personal spaces.
Gary says he is learning from online courses and is getting great help from close artists friends but says its proving to be a long and slightly frustrating journey and would love to get extra help wherever possible. He says when looking back his biggest contribution to art at school and collage was to skip class for a smoke and footy with mates, leaving the committed artists to learn in piece.
Having grown up in the UK, the vastness of the Australian country really inspires and influences him greatly. He says as a newcomer he's still exploring all manner of styles, layering, scraping, manipulating and heavy brushwork creations, sometimes with and sometimes without success.
He is a committed recycler reusing natural resources and old reclaimed canvases where possible. He enjoys allowing the past works to speak through to the new.
Some of Garys other work is inspired by his commitment to his ongoing passion of diversity and inclusion fostering an inclusive environment, with respect and equality for all.