Portrait of Kangaroo No. 53

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I am an Australian of Ukrainian descent born in 1954, my mother Joanna Chorney’s working life was that of a practicing artist and art educator so my exposure to art began virtually at birth. I clearly recall, at the tender age of six, sitting in a life drawing class with my mother, charcoal in hand fiercely concentrating on light falling on a fruit and bowl arrangement while fighting the anxiety of making those first decisive marks on stark white paper. That was the beginning of my love affair with drawing which led to participation in numerous exhibitions throughout my schooling years and a one man show of ‘Adelaide Torrens River’ landscape paintings at the age of 16.

In 1974 I graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art Painting from the South Australian School of Art.

Early working life started with a short stint in painting backdrops in theatre then progressed to scenic artistry in the film industry. Meanwhile I was in private practice working towards a one man show of nude drawing held in 1978, This was followed by another one man show of paintings and nude drawings in 1980.