The historic Australian city of Bathurst, in New South Wales, is my hometown and my base. After five years of lecturing in the arts at what is now Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, in 1984 I decided to go painting full-time. The course of my career, dating from 1975, has seen over 50 solo exhibitions and over 30 group shows.
Although my art reflects an interest in a wide range of subjects, my early training in architecture is a lasting influence – not only in the portrayal of buildings, but in the carefully structured compositions I seek in my work. Of greater influence is the landscape around where I grew up, and a childhood spent fishing with my father. The enigma of the Australian bush, with its pervading overtone of the sublime, is a theme that continues to dominate my work, especially in this later stage of my career.
I delight working in most media, moving freely between oils, acrylics, gouache, watercolours and pastels. When drawing I prefer compressed charcoal or coloured pencils. When travelling I use pen and ink and watercolour. Whichever medium I choose, a rich variation in surface finish is something I consciously pursue.
As someone with a great respect for things handmade I also enjoy doing all my own framing. I use archival museum board, both to draw on and as matboards. For mouldings, I rout my own standard museum profiles using New Guinea rosewood, a renewable plantation timber. The frames are then sanded, stained and beeswax finished by hand.
Education
2020 Doctor of Philosophy, Charles Sturt University
1977 Master of Arts (Fine Art), Chelsea School of Art, London
1973–76 Bachelor of Arts, Hons 1 (Fine Art), Hornsey College of Art, London
1972–73 Foundation Year, (Fine Art), Ealing Technical College, London
1965–69 Bachelor of Architecture, Hons 1, University of NSW
1964 Commonwealth Scholarship
Selected awards and commissions
2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to community history.
2018, 2015 One of four nationwide finalists, Bathurst Macquarie Heritage Medal
2009 Winner, $35,000 Country Energy Art Prize, Countryscapes. Finalist 2007-2010
1990 Suite of paintings of Guilin for Embassy of The People’s Republic of China, Canberra
1988 Five Paintings, The James Hardie Suite, Bicentenary of Australia, Bathurst City Council
1887 Painting for NSW Corporate Affairs Commission
1980 Painting for State Parliament House, Sydney, NSW
Represented
National Gallery of Victoria, Felton Bequest
Parliament House Collection, Canberra, ACT
NSW Parliament House Collection, Sydney
Artbank collection
Regional Art Galleries, Bathurst and Dubbo
Newcastle Conservatorium of Music
Charles Sturt University Collection
Katoomba Court House Collection
Hilton Hotel Collection, Cairns
Qantas Collection
Housing Industry Association Collection, Sydney
Chinese Embassy, Canberra, ACT
Private collections in UK, USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia
Integral Eco-Industrial Campus, Guilin, China
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 Orange Regional Gallery, HERE/NOW Exhibition
2022 Calleen Art Award, Cowra Regional Gallery. Finalist
2020 Olde Masters, Lloyd Rees and Graham Lupp. Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
2018, 2005, 2002 Invited, Kedumba Drawing Award Exhibition
1990 John Olsen Drawing Prize Exhibition, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
1989 9x5 Centenary Exhibitions, Sydney and Melbourne
1987 Macquarie Galleries, Sydney. The New Romantics
1981 National Gallery of Victoria, Aspects of New Realism, NSW Young Contemporaries
1977 Stowell’s Trophy Exhibition, The Diploma Galleries, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1976 Icon Galleries, Birmingham, UK, British Realists