“Life is only given us once, and one wants to live it boldly, with full consciousness and beauty”
Anton Chekhov.
All of us observe our surroundings in different ways and at different levels. As an artist I am inspired by the ever-changing south west beach scapes and forests surrounding my Margaret River home; by the vibrant colours and stark, raw, rugged beauty of Karijini, the Pilbara and our north-west; and the energy, contours and life of the human form and face.Depicting the human form is one of the most challenging and rewarding things an artist can do, and undoubtedly one of the most difficult. As a representational artist working from life, I don't want to either idealise or romanticise and I don't want to objectify either. I love the changing shapes and shadows of the body. Every model brings a different energy and her own charm to the work.
Many of the landscapes are a result of my regular camping trips to the north-west, depicting the vibrant colours, haunting presence and ancient textures of the Kimberley and Pilbara. These works range from the reflections at low tide on 80 Mile Beach, to the ranges of the Pilbara and to the sculpted shapes of Karijini.
My beach and dune paintings attempt to capture the light, shade and wind which sculpt and form the bright and spare dunes and shore. It is important to me to accurately depict the living ecology of the beach, which is dynamic and fragile – the colonising plants, such as sedges and grasses; and in more sheltered niches, the shrubby plants. Locations range the entire Western Australian coast, from Cape Leveque to Rottnest to Esperance, each place having its unique colours and geology.
I enjoy using a diversity of media; painting, sculpting and sketching my fascination with the natural world and with the human form.
Curriculum Vitae
I was born in Edinburgh, emigrating with my Polish surgeon father and my Scottish mother to Northampton, WA in 1953. My father practised as the local GP, and many of my earliest memories are of lengthy trips with him as he travelled around the Murchison performing tonsillectomies and immunisations. I was occupied on the long drives and frequent break downs with pencils and any paper available. Drawing has been a passion all my life, since I could first make marks on paper.
Due to a busy business career and together with my wife Margaret raising two beautiful daughters, I was unable to afford the time to pursue my interest seriously until the 21st century.
Except for a brief period in the 1980s when I attended Claremont School of Art, I am self-taught. As an Antiques Dealer for 25 years, I dealt in fine art, both antique and contemporary, and this offered increased exposure to the arts world and an increasing commitment to originality in design and excellence in materials.
I has been a resident of Margaret River since 1994, originally farming at Bramley, now resident on a semi-urban forest property where I have a studio.
I enjoy using a diversity of media; painting, sculpting and sketching my fascination with the natural world and with the human form. My most recent achievements were to win Highly Commended awards at the 2010 Cossack Art Awards and Vasse Art Awards (both for Pilbara landscapes), and to be offered the artist in residency for the 2011 Cossack Art Awards by the Shire of Roebourne.
I enjoy giving workshops and lessons to small groups of people by request, and undertake commissions, including portraits.Selected Exhibitions
2004/5 Capel Fest Art Classic
2006 Inaugural Solo Exhibition, Gallows Gallery
2007 Exhibition, Old Bakery on Eighth, Maylands
2008 Vasse Art Exhibition
Joint Exhibition, Lumiere Gallery
2009 Bunbury Regional Art Gallery's South Western Times Survey
ArtGeo Busselton, “Stark” Exhibition
National Lifestyle Villages Annual Art Award Exhibition
Cossack Art Awards
Solo exhibition Margaret River Cultural Centre Foyer Gallery
2010 Cossack Art Awards
Monart Art Gallery, Dalkeith, solo exhibition
Tresillian Gallery, Nedlands, solo exhibition
2011 Will's Domain, featured artist
Boranup Gallery, featured artist
Vasse Art Exhibition
Studio 281, solo exhibitionAwards
2005 Capel Fest Art Classic, two Highly Commended Awards (landscape paintings).
2008 Vasse Art Exhibition and Awards, Highly Commended Award (sculpture).
8 prizes including Best New Exhibitor Award, Margaret River Show (landscape painting and charcoal and watercolour nudes)2009 Bunbury Regional Art Gallery's South Western Times Survey, two awards, Dale Alcock Homes Acquisitive Award and Jackson's Viewer's Choice Award (landscape painting).
2010 Cossack Art Awards, Highly Commended (painting)
2011 Vasse Art Awards and Exhibition, Highly Commended (painting)
Artist in Residence, Shire of Roebourne, Cossack Art Awards
Galleries
Boranup Gallery, Margaret River WA
Flutes Gallery, Brookland Valley Estate, Margaret River, WA
Studio 281, Maylands, WA
Monart Gallery, Dalkeith, WA
Fremantle Contemporary Art Gallery
Will's Domain
