I took up oil painting in June 1986; Australian landscapes mainly and some still life when I needed a change of subject. I studied for about two years under an old artist name John Spink who specialised in bush scenes, old huts and billabongs.
He also painted a great city of Melbourne scene with the old green and gold trams coming down the tree-lined Collins Street. He also had a great philosophical outlook on life and he and I spent many a night discussing religion, sex, politics and such – subjects which are usually taboo in conversation circles – over a glass or two of red wine.
Looking back, the evenings I spent with John were probably the most enjoyable and entertaining I spent in my years as a budding artist. Painting on those nights always took a secondary role behind our opinions and philosophies on life and during those years I didn’t care all that much that my progress as a landscape artist was somewhat slow.
Not long after his 82nd birthday, John complained of a sore throat and shortly afterwards our worst fears were confirmed when he was diagnosed as having throat cancer. His suffering was mercifully short and he passed away three months later.
I had lost a good friend and this also left me without an art teach at a time when I was becoming more serious about painting.
No long after I met Kevin Boucher at a local shopping centre where he was holding a small exhibition of his own paintings and was doing a demonstration. I immediately liked his style of painting and upon enquiring about lessons, I joined his Monday night classes for the next four years.
With all due modesty, my painting improved after that in ‘leaps and bounds’ and I was selling paintings at the Rotary Club exhibitions with regularity. Kevin taught me the do’s and don’ts of landscape painting and showed me how to capture scenes on canvas I never thought I would be capable of five years before.
So much so that when Marg and I took up camping, I was quite confident to put up an easel anywhere we spent the week-end, whether it be on a bend of a dry creek bed or the edge of a river, I would send a pleasurable as well as profitable afernoon painting.
These days you can find me at our local country market during the warmer months where I set up my easel and have chat with the locals and tourists in town…. and if lucky, sell a painting or two!