Following my dream
I was lucky. I grew up in a family that loved books. I guess that's where the passion started.
And I loved to draw. I loved going to the art supply shop and buying a Spirax pad of cartridge paper, or a 4B pencil, or some new Derwent coloured pencils. And I loved reading the names on the tubes of paint hanging in their racks - Cadmium Red, Viridian, Gamboge. They were like spells, like poetry. Memories, maybe, of some dream still to find.
I discovered the joy of creating my own worlds, my own stories, my own characters. But for a long time, they were just snippets, scattered here and there across the landscape of my mind, or waiting quietly in some dark cupboard under the stairs. Waiting perhaps, for the day when they might stand up and start to breathe.
Twenty-five years ago, I took that first step of faith that any artist takes. I've been drawing and painting ever since.
For inspiration, I drew largely on our great, wide land, Australia Downunder. I drew on the Australian setting, creating a family of characters - koalas, kangaroos, cockatoos to name but a few. I put them in typical Australian landscapes - the beach, the bush, the shearing shed.
My work is a celebration of God's good earth, of the love and cheer that truly make the world go round. And I've been encouraged by the response of people all over the world. I'm inspired to keep going.
It's a delight travelling to schools across Victoria conducting cartoon workshops and encouraging kids to draw. I never get tired of seeing the light go on in a young person's head when they see how easy, and how much fun, it can be.
I've been privileged to work with Thana Koutsis and Gerda de Clerq, to create "What About Me? The Autism Survival Guide for Kids". Autism is still largely a mystery, and I hope that in some small way, this will book help boys and girls growing up with a brother or sister who has autism.
I still love reading the labels on the paint tubes. They have their own special magic. And in creating artwork, the part I enjoy the most is that moment when I squeeze the watercolour paint onto the pallette, wet my brush, and let the colours flow.
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