and I could not pursue that subject
even though I had success as an
art student at State level in Year 10,
so it was back into the fog I slid.
When I was 15 years of age, I
found that music inspired my art and
unfortunately Mum and Dad did not
like my form of inspiration as they
found the soothing beats of Black
Sabbath too much to bear. In order
to keep sanity in our family I was
doomed to the outposts of empire...
my Dad built another room under
the house for me, he then supplied
me with an old Stereogram, a desk,
a chair and a cupboard for all my
worldly belongings...I had set up
my first “Space”, even though there
was the occasional banging of the
foot on the floorboards above my
head, I was in nirvana down there.
Since those salad days, I have
always needed my ‘Space’ wherever
I have lived. My wonderful wife and
I have resided in every State and
Territory in Australia and during my 20
years in the RAAF, we tended to move
on a regular basis, however I always
set up my ‘Space’ wherever we went.
Space does not necessarily mean
a 30 metre square shed as it just
needs to be a quiet place where
your imagination can run free, where
the worries of the day dissipate and
where you can simply recharge.
Space does not have to be just one
place either, as I have a space in my
shed for painting during winter and
it moves to my air-conditioned area
during summer. When I draw, I like to
sit on the front balcony with a large
table and watch the world go by and
in a town of less than ten residents,
there is not much to distract me.
Now that I have explained what
‘Space’ can be, it is imperative your
drawing equipment has a space itself
too, so you don’t take up living space
used by the family, or if you do, you
must make your drawing kit very
portable. By portable, I mean your
kit needs to packed up and moved
within one minute and here is what I
have done to make this happen, but
firstly I need to explain what my ‘kit’
is and how it can fit into my ‘space’.My drawing kit comprises:- A large drawing board
(800mm x 600mm) - A row of old Spaghetti cans for my
coloured and watercolour pencils
Empty Fruit Cans for the pencils I
am using on the current artwork - Plastic cases for storage of
my ‘peripherals’ (Erasers,
“When I draw, I
like to sit on the
front balcony
with a large table
and watch the
world go by.”
Above: Pencil set up
Opposite page: Winter
studio set up