PROFILE
34 artistSOmE FORmOF addIctIOn...
has to have some element of addiction to the craft. I
know for sure that I have. It is always about the next
painting – never the last.
It was fortunate that I made my name and became
established as a painter in those good times.
Landscape painting was popular, galleries were
booming and there were plenty around. Although
coping with many rejections and many failed paintings,
I was highly motivated and determined. Eventually,
I succeeded in entering the Sydney gallery scene,
exhibiting in Geo Styles Gallery in Sydney, Swains
bookstore and Prouds Gallery – all now long gone.
I had no formal training as an artist but learnt
through failure, hard work and observation, grasping
opportunities as they arose. I suppose I like to call
myself an intuitive artist. Failure has been more
common than success, but the drive to produce
better paintings has always propelled me forward.
One of the greatest opportunities I grasped was
painting in the beautiful Burragorang Valley–part
of the catchment area for Sydney’s water supply.
Access was very restricted and I was fortunate
enough to be one of the few allowed in to paint it.
Through this I learned to relish painting areas that
most other artists did not venture into. As a natural