Returning home

'What to paint next?' is a question I always ask myself. Rather than paint stand-alone works I like to explore a subject and create a series of paintings. A subject has to sustain my interest and, as always with me, tell some stories.
I have decided to explore the domestic. Scenes of everyday life around the home. A man eating his breakfast. A woman searching in her handbag. A man ironing his business shirt.
The painting above is from 'The Body on the Beach' my 2011 series of paintings inspired by the mystery of the unknown man found on Somerton beach. It shows the kind of small drama that can be created by a lone figure in an interior space.

Putting on a show

I'm not an exhibitionist, but I do have exhibitions.
As a child I was very shy. I also had a stutter. It took me a while to gain confidence in myself and my abilities. Now that I am almost 40 years old and have made my own way in the world, I still refer to life as a 'confidence game'.
Looking back I don't think shyness has been a very big problem for me. It has given me the chance to take a back seat and really observe the world around me. And this is a privilege. If I was spinning around in the whirl of society, I don't think I could have ever found a vocation in art.
Painting has become the way that I make sense of the world. It is a method to record the beauty of the colours and shapes that surround me. It is also a way to tell stories.
This blog has allowed me to show some of the paintings from the Good Sports series. Below are more of the paintings that make up the Good Sports exhibition that I am co-hosting with fellow artist Kate Bower at the Bapea Gallery in Adelaide until 24 May 2015.

'After the siren'
oil on board

'The set shot'
oil on board

'Frontrunner'
oil on board

'Yellow caps'
oil on board

'The uppercut'
oil on board

Goodbye cricket, goodbye summer

Well, Australia has won the World Cup (hurrah!) but that means that a very eventful and long 2014-15 cricket season has come to an end (sigh).

I know a lot people don't care for cricket. However for me it's the perfect game for summer - long languid spells with moments of action. I'm totally unfashionable as I really like test cricket. It's a bit like Shakespeare - it's long and you're not going to digest all of it, but nothing really compares.

As an artist I have found cricket to be a fascinating subject. The white uniforms take on purple and blue hues in the sun and the batsmen, bowlers, fielders and the umpires appear like actors on a green stage. The painting below shows a game being played on an oval in Adelaide's west parklands adjacent to the West Terrace cemetery.

This painting is titled 'The bowler returns to his mark' and will be part of the Good Sports exhibition that I will be presenting with Kate Bower at the Bapea Gallery in May 2015.

The last swim of summer

I sometimes wish I was one of those people who swim in the sea all year round. Gee, that's guts, isn't it? But I'm not an iceberg.

The end of March is the end of swimming season for me and that's all right. However, it's worth saying farewell to swimming and take a moment to reflect on how lucky I am to live so close to the sea. The water temperature yesterday morning was a bit nippy but it didn't take too long to adjust and enjoy it.

The painting below is based on a scene I saw during Adelaide's last really hot spell in early February. It was 35 degrees Celsius and I had gone for a swim at Glenelg. I saw this couple leaving the beach. Instantly I thought it could make a decent painting.

This painting will be part of the 'Good Sports' exhibition that I will be presenting with Kate Bower at the Bapea Art Gallery in May 2015. 

Welcome

I am a visual artist living in Adelaide, South Australia.

In my current work I am exploring amateur sport. I have been visiting local ovals, beaches and roads to observe people playing cricket and football, having a swim, going for a run and cycling. What I love to see is men and women of all shapes, sizes and ages having a go.

I have never been a great sportsman but I find sport a fascinating subject. In my work I like to explore figures in a landscape and sport is exactly that. Moments of reflection and stillness also intrigue me. Often when I am watching a live game of cricket or football, I stop watching the main action and focus on the things happening on the periphery. These little dramas can be as interesting as the main game.

Below is an oil painting titled 'Non-striker's end'. The setting is Camden Oval at Novar Gardens.

This painting will be part of an exhibition called 'Good Sports' that I will be presenting with fellow artist Kate Bower at the Bapea Gallery in May 2015.