I’ve gone through life as an artist believing that there is a higher purpose to Art – something over and above mere existence. I’m not talking about religious revelation, metaphysics or existentialism but that intangible, immeasurable quality where paint or any other...
Once upon a time I had a conversation with a West Australian artist who enjoyed a great deal of success in his home state, nationwide, and had at least one book written about him. His name is seldom heard these days. His house, and a covered walkway to the...
Federico Garcia-Lorca wrote that ‘at the heart of all great art is an essential melancholy’. Melancholy ……….a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause. He was writing as a poet, but any number of blues musicians would probably agree...
Once a year during August every South Australian artist puts up an exhibition, takes part in a group show or opens up their studio to the public. This year i'm opening my Vanilla Sky Studio each weekend
The national conversation towards A new National Cultural Policy building upon the initiatives of the Gillard Labour Government in 2011 is a good place to start. The five areas below are currently up for discussion and you could hardly argue with any of them. Let’s hope that the current government isn’t going to be a one term affair saddled with debt from its predecessor and on the skids before its time is up or at least before discussion on a cultural policy can reach some sort of conclusion and pass into law. We can but hope, but don’t hold your breath. No doubt the Gillard government said the same thing.
Is there a future for the painted portrait? The annual rush to present a work for selection to the NSW Archibald committee never seems to diminish and nor does the disappointment in being passed over yet again. The archies aren’t the only portrait prize either. But just who gets their portrait painted anyway these days when the camera phone can capture every waking moment in perpetuity?