Genuine Canned Surfers Paradise Sunshine Ed. 2 of 10

In the 1970’s while on holiday on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I came across a small can labelled, 'Sunshine Coast Sunshine', to be taken back to the holiday maker's home with instructions, "only to be opened on a dreary day". I still remember my little can and the fond memories it evoked. I thought it appropriate to recreate a, Pop Art / Warhol-inspired, Gold Coast version for all those needing a little smile during a grey day.

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Stephen R Baxter is an Australian multi-media artist, with a BA Honours degree in Fine Art. He lives and works from his home and studio in Southport, on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

“Making artwork for me is a bit like, the thrill of the chase. Just like life, sometimes it works and sometimes it fails. That’s the beauty of it. My failures are quite often my most successful developments in the end. One day I could be focussing on found shiny stainless steel and the next could be beautiful white porcelain and the next, thick buttery impasto paint. 😊.

The underlying research of Stephen’s working methodology is Bricolage. Structural anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss coined the term in 1962. Baxter explains “The Bricoleur, reconstructs, and reuses found and at hand materials and ideas to produce something new with new meanings and insights”.

Stephen’s artworks are held in both private and public collections in some states and territories of Australia. His artworks have been exhibited in and collected by people in many other countries, including, USA, France, Russia, Turkiye, Singapore, Fiji, Germany, and England.

Australian Public Collections include:
QAGOMA - Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
ANU - Australian Dictionary of Biography Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
HOTA - Gold Coast City Gallery, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
QUT - Queensland University of Technology Art Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
USQ - University of Southeast Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre, Murwillumbah, New South Wales.
Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia.
Grafton Regional Art Gallery, Grafton, New South Wales.
Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia.
Morton Bay Region Art Collection, Queensland, Australia.
Downlands College Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Queensland, Australia.
Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
SCU - Southern Cross University, former Dean (Leone Cantrell) purchase.
Mater Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Gold Coast, Australia.