Then maybe you sketch it up quickly and rub it out in disbelief before no one else sees, your hands are sweating and you wrangle with it a bit but … it’s still looming there going wow and it ain’t gonna go away.

Then you take it through the trials of construction, perhaps a maquette or other tests involving petri dishes, re-agents and centrifuges etc. but now it’s firmly attached, like quasimodo and its still going “Wow!” Then you’ve finally finished it and … “Wow it looks good!” You meet people along the way and they go “Oh Wow great art dude!” You have an event with it, exhibit it or a birthday party and its there and all those who came went “Wow yeah right on!”.

A journalist comes up to you and says, “Wow! Do you mind if I write three articles about that and one in Vogue!” Then finally a well known buyer drives up out of the blue to your place and says “Wow…How much for that number!” and you sell it just like that in the wink of an eye with her roaring off into the distance with it in the back of the Caddy. Whew and Wow!

But it’s not over yet. A year later when your still waiting for the next piece to come into your mind that has the next Wow Factor someone comes up to you in the street and says, “ You know that piece you sold last year, Wow! Hey wish I’d bought it!”

Colonial Settle & Scultpure

Tasmania has until now brought forth no ruined castles, tombs or parliament houses older than 221 years. So in an amazing landscape anything made of metal stands out like dogs nuts.

That’s where my work comes in. Maybe it doesn’t look like dogs nuts (some people may prefer to differ) but it sure does look so alien in the wilderness of Tasmania, just like it has just landed from outer space.

Space Junk & Natural Beauty

It’s a bit controversial I guess, but having some space junk factor perhaps makes us realise how precious the beauty of our environment is.

Heading to Art School

So when I came out of school I was lucky enough to have the choice of going to Art School, the Conservatorium of Music or doing a Food & Beverage Course at Drysdale House which financially would have been the best course!

I chose Art School ending up with sweet BFA (My joke – Bachelor of Fine Arts). It was four year course in 1980.

I had a few shows in Tassie whilst unemployed and working as the bar manager at the Backspace Theatre at the Theatre Royal.

Love My Way, or not…

In ‘86 I moved to Melbourne hoping for better work prospects and to chase a girl who fell in love with someone else.

Unemployment in Hobart was then at 13%. In Melbourne I worked in arts related jobs in The Picture Collection and Conservation Department at the State Library of Victoria, in Australian Archives and then in a Faux Sculpture Cement Casting firm in Prahran.

We cast off European antique sculptures and sold them to rich folk in Toorak.

Saxophones and Linocuts

I taught Saxophone privately until it went belly up in the late 80’s with unemployment in South Melbourne running at 26%.

There was no work and the last money making venture in Melbourne was selling some hand coloured linocuts at a private by invitation show in our rental in Balaclava.

This made us a bit of cash to buy some tickets to come back to Tassie which seemed a better place to have our child and start being a family.

I started to pursue art again back in Tassie in the ‘90s and was showing hand coloured linocut prints through Despard Gallery.

Sculpture Studio Spaces

My studio is a variety of places. In Town. Dodges and Roaring Beach.

Outside with shade is nice for sculpture then inside for 2d things.

Practising and playing guitar you can do anywhere.

Dream Studio

These days I have a new shed with an insulated electric garage door on it. This is my dream studio.

I can drag the current sculpture out, get the grinder sander onto it and you won’t see me for dust. All kitted up in masks and safety gear of course.

Passers by walking their dogs will look at me with expression on their faces that could only be deciphered as, “Whats that nutjob up to now?” “Its Art.” I say and they walk on, the dog on the leash pulling them to toward a far off bbq their owner can’t smell.

Cold Day Studio Space

I still like drawing or painting in the kitchen on a cold day next to the heater waiting for that wow factor to come.

I spent 20 years on the keys as an IT Geek doin’ the day job and am liking standing up and the outdoors much more these days so the computer gets avoided.

Sculpture and Batteries and Getting Even

It’s great having battery operated tools these days. It means you can work anywhere.

I often charge my batteries up full, taking my tools and an unfinished piece of work down to the covenanted land I own at Roaring Beach and get the neighbour there back for his dog barking every time I open the caravan door.

I get stuck in with the electric riveter and wrecking the peace and tranquility of the morning competing with the sound of echoing distant weekend shooters and the chainsaws of wannabee novice forestry workers.

I’m saying to myself in my earmuffs, “Cop this racket, it’s my turn now next door dog!”

Different Interpretations

Outside of this time my work has evolved from a love for the way our interpretation of what we see is different. During my working life of working on project teams, I have known people who think entirely differently to me.

Sometimes we have realised this and become great friends, other times we have chuckled at our differences and run into each other occasionally at events and rolled our eyes and then of course there are those others that have gone seperate ways from me with a sigh of relief!

Allowing Evolution

Other than that it’s that same old story of evolving – being involved in creative processes from a teenager through to art school, as an artist, musician, hired by employers in Information Technology for being a creative as well as having a specific working knowledge.

People, Engagement & Sculpture

Apart from selling work, I enjoy meeting people who are interested in my work. I find it enriching that people come to see art work and maybe take some memories of it away with them that stays with them, maybe for a week, month or decade.

Another thing I enjoy is meeting people, whatever their level of interest in the work may be. It’s a great way to make contact with people and renew ties with people you haven’t seen for many years.

Sketching Sculpture Concepts & Etsy

I don’t do this very much in the sense of looking at an object and drawing it. I s’pose my location is the mind…so that’s about as “on location” a you can get!

I have done many action drawings on location. They have the time and place and some remark about the instant marked on them. For example: “Tired Roaring Beach 5:32 pm 23/04/2023”

Last year I sold representational works on Etsy in an hour of putting them up. Wow! I did these from images taken on my smartphone.

Outside of this I very much admire artists that can abstractify a scene or who’s plein air technique just falls into place. The work of a few friends that I have known for a long time jealously come to mind – Checkout Shari Nye and Peta Cross’s work on Instagram.

Best Advice About Living a Creative Life

The best advice I have been given about a a creative life is…do it.

Creativity can be applied to many situations and vocations. Whether it’s getting ready for a fancy dress party or developing a piece of software.

You don’t have to do the traditional artists thing to be creative. I have had a lot of employers employ me because I have had a diversity of experience and used the creativity I have been labelled with and applied them to variety of jobs. It’s just that NOW I just wanna be an Artist / Musician and that’s all!

The best way to build your artistic skills is

1. Play,
2. Practice,
3. Do (3a. Repeat 1 2 & 3).

And make sure you have some respite from being creative. Do something else. Go surfing or bushwalking.

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