I have been teaching drawing for many years, at the School of Design at Curtin University in Western Australia, where I was a Senior Lecturer [1969/2000] and since retirement in through private tuition and as a drawing instructor. I also also hold Anatomy and Proportion workshops for various groups around Perth and also respond to many inquiries from all over Australia and overseas. You will see in the ‘being a model’ section of the site that I also promote models and coach if asked.
I have been hanging around the Perth Art scene for a long time. I spent my pre academic life as a television designer both in Australia and the UK, after my Art School education at Perth Tech in its ‘golden era’ of the late 50’s.
I rarely exhibit. Life drawings are notoriously hard to sell! Mostly I consider my drawing to be a highly personalised inquiry. If they look good as well, for me it is a bi-product, but out of the thousands of drawing I must have done I have only framed a few. Recently I decided to show most of my ‘kept’ work online, so it is now on the vast archive in the gallery section of this website. Some parts are still to be updated with post covid drawings.updated. Four years ago I also started to pay serious attention to portraiture and now undertake regular sessions, There is lots to learn about facial anatomy, characterisation and the inner person you are observing. Somewhat reluctantly I have attempted commissions to get a ‘feel’ for the genre.
My other activities inside of the art world is encouraging other Artists, coaching, and the occasional Judging and opening exhibitions. Guess this comes about from being in the scene for a long time! I am passionate about promoting life drawing and it give me much pleasure to see how well the Life drawing community in Perth has expanded and moved into the mainstream both as a discipline and also a pastime and even an ‘entertainment’. It also gets a big tick as a healthy workout for the brain and eye/hand co-ordination.
In 2003 I co-founded and help coordinate a regular life drawing group, now based at The Bassendean Community Centre, Old York Rd, 70 metres from the Bassendean train station. Our group is called FAB, [Figure Art Bassendean] and it’s just that. One of the most comprehensive drawing sessions around, usually with 3 models per session. Come and join us. Its a terrific venue, costs $20 per session. Bring your own materials and easel. For more info press the contact me button.
For 2025 I am planning to hold a retrospective ‘Body of Work’ 25 years of life drawing. Hope I can find an exhibitor. With over 2000 selected works in folio dating back to 2000 it will be a curatorial challenge to select 80 particular pieces.
.I also do a lot of work with men, as an Elder and facilitator for The Menswork Project, both in Perth and in Bali. I have been working in this field for the past 30 years. I also write extensively on the shifting nature of masculinity, particularly for older men. If you are interested in the topic of men’s issues and blokes well-being take a look at The Menswork Project website. http://mensworkproject.org
More recently I have published a Source Document called The Momentum Concept. A challenge to create non adversarial change about unhealthy male behavior. Take a look its easy to read and is going great guns out there. http://momentumconcept,com
My wife Georgia is also an accomplished artist and so is my son Michael and daughter Catherine. We have all had an Art School education. She is holding her first solo exhibition at the Zig Zag Gallery Kalamunda April/may 2024 It goes back further! My father was a painter and my mother a poet, so my future was pretty much set.
Michael is an independent designer living in Melbourne, and Georgia, besides being an artist is the recently retired CEO and an inspiration behind the Uthando Doll Project on behalf of the orphaned children in Zulu Natal South Africa. For this work she was recently awarded an OAM. Daughter Catherine has a keen eye for the vintage in clothing, home wares and collectables.