Which new trends or Australian artists do you find inspiring at the moment?I don’t really follow new trends or any artists – I go where my paintbrush leads.
Which Australian deceased artist do you most admire and why?Brett Whitely for his amazing draughtsmanship.
Which exhibition that you have visited made the greatest impact on you and why?I was quite young, I don’t think I had left school and I saw a Rodin sculpture in Sydney – the Burghers of Calias and I was totally mesmerized, I decided I wanted to sculpt then and there. However, things change and I ended up a painter.
Where do you get your inspiration for your work?I am inspired by the water at the moment – whether it is still water, fresh or salt, the sounds and smells all contribute to a painting. But most of the time you simply see something and go ‘O.K. got to get that on canvas.’
Do you have any rituals or habits involving your art-making that you can tell us about?Not really, but I am always exploring new products to see if they will improve my practice. Or seeing what is new on the market, you might find something that leads you in a new direction or opens up the possibilities of something new happening on the canvas.
What do you like most about being an artist?I am my own boss! How do you handle bad days when you experience artist's block? I always take what Brett Whitely said as fact, it is a job and on a day when nothing creative is happening you go into the studio – tidy, clean, do whatever you need to do to get organized. When you go in the next day something will happen – treat it as a job – 9 to 5.
What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?I suppose the two solo shows that I had in a row, but having said that, I was pretty well burnt out after and didn’t paint for a few years after that. But I it was always a dream to have a ‘solo’. Do you feel that you want to make a difference to the world or in people's lives? If yes, how? I would like to leave the world a little more happier, calmer, more pleasant to be living in I guess. I would like to think that I lived and added to people’s lives not detracted.
What are your plans for the coming year?To keep on exploring, learning and expanding my art practice. There is always something new out there.