Born
in Victoria and inspired by the Northern Victorian landscape, as well
as early Australian “Plein-Air” artists as a teenager, early development
as an artist was achieved through much study an on-location landscape
paintings and drawing. While still a teenager, he completed studies
at art colleges which included a diploma of Graphic Design at Caulfield
Institute of Technology (now Monash University). This course also
included life drawing painting and graphic printmaking.
TEACHER:
A trained secondary art teacher of some 26 years experience he has
more recently resigned to become a full-time artist, and is now a
well sought after tutor/demonstrator in many art societies throughout
Australia and annually in N.Z.. He is regularly asked to judge art
exhibitions and has contributed in this way in many major art shows
throughout Victoria, N.S,W. and South Australia.
WRITER:
In recent years he has been a contributing writer for Australian Artists
Magazine and has written articles of comparison of oil and watercolour
techniques as well as watercolour segments. A more recent article
appeared in the International Artists Magazine.
EXHIBITIONS:
He has held many successful solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Adelaide,
Wagga Wagga and Shepparton and has also participated in many varied
group exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas. In 1991 his work
was selected as part of an exchange program, to be exhibited in Anhui,
The Peoples Republic of China. In 1995 his work was represented in
an international exchange exhibition in Taiwan which featured watercolours
from Asia and Australia.
AWARDS:
Since 1976 when he began painting in a more serious way he has won
in excess 160 major awards and nearly as many highly commended awards
in that time. (180 major awards won between 1988-1998). He has been
awarded not only for his watercolours and oils, but also for pastel
and pencil drawings. During 1994 he was the recipient of 14 awards
and 15 in 1995, including The Waverley City Art Prize; The Australian
Landscape Award at Camberwell Rotary; City of Kingston Award and also
Best Watercolour and Bayswater Best Oil. More recently awards include
Best Watercolour Box Hill Rotary 1997; Best Watercolour Victor Harbor;
Australian Landscape Award, Oil - Victor Harbor 1999; Best Watercolour
Bayswater 1999; Best Watercolour Bacchus Marsh 1999; Best pastel Ivanhoe
1999; Best Watercolour Ivanhoe 2003; Best painting Alexandra Rotary
2003; Best Pastel Deniliquin-NSW 2003; Best Pastel Cobram Rotary 2003;
Best Watercolour Wangaratta 2003; Best in Show , pastel– Alexandra;
Best Watercolour Bacchus Marsh 2004; Oil Prize Mt. Waverley 2004;
Best in Show Victor Harbor 2005 ; Best Watercolour Mornington 2005;
Best in Show, oil - Alexandra 2005; Best Watecolour Bacchus Marsh
2005; Watercolour Prize Mt. Waverley 2005; Best Watercolour St. Kevins
College (Melb) 2006.
His
work is represented in many private, corporate and municipal collections
throughout Australia and overseas e.g. England, Scotland, Germany
, Italy, Japan, Philippines, U.S.A. and Canada. Municipal galleries
and offices; Mansfield, Bright, Bendigo, Deniliquin, Shepparton, Knox,
Maryborough, Wangaratta, Echuca, Horsham, Hamilton, Euroa, Kyabram,
Esashi (Japan), City of Waverley and City of Kingston (Mordialloc).
Corporate collections include; Reece Australia, Kraft Foods and Mitsubishi
Australia.
REPRESENTED:
He is a member of the Watercolour Society of Victoria, Twenty Melbourne
Painters Society, the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and also
is a past President of Shepparton Artists Society.
Bibliography; Max Germaine’s Artists and Galleries of Australia 1990.
