Artist Statement
ARTIST STATEMENT
I was born in Brisbane, a long way from the dusty plains of my ancestors home in South Western Queensland around Dirranbandi and Cunnamulla. I am a self taught artist.
Both my parents died when I was very young and I was raised by my grandmother who gave me a European education at Villanova College, in Brisbane. I had no contact with Aboriginal culture and this left me very confused.
In 1964 I married my wife Kay, we have 3 daughters & 6 grandchildren. During my working life I worked for Telstra as a Communications Officer, then 15 years ago left Brisbane for the peace & quiet of the country in the mountains near Warwick in Queensland. It was while working for a herbal company in Warwick that I fell ill and it was during my recovery in late 2002 that I felt an urge to paint.
I started painting in February 2003 and entered and won my first art competition in July that year – The Indigenous Art Section of the Brisbane RNA. After entering the Inverell Art Competition that same year I was offered my first Solo Exhibition at the Inverell Art Gallery in July 2004, from this exhibition I was asked to be part of a Group Exhibition in Nice, Italy.
Over the past 5 years my art has taken me to many parts of the world and given me the opportunity to meet & make friends with people of so many different cultures. In 2005, I was the ...