“ I think I was born an artist! I didn’t become one, that’s what I was. I was sent to boarding school at a very young age, so being an artist at boarding school wasn’t easy because you are supposed to be doing other work. I actually had to be very firm about being an artist as they tried to physically beat it out of me. I used to get hit a lot for drawing. That’s who I am and nothing was going to change that.
I came to the North Coast at the end of the 80’s. I used to come here to paint landscapes and fell in love with different places. I moved north at 25 to Bellingen and Grafton. I built a gypsy cart and lived with a herd of horses for many years with my travelling marionette show. I spent the first decade in The Northern Rivers travelling around in my gypsy cart performing. I do lyric and music but also theatrical with puppets and costumes.I play harmonica and I can play guitar in the kitchen. I could never say I can play guitar because I work with really good guitar players. I work with the best that there is. Dan Rumour and Davey Bob Ramsey. They’re the 2 guitarists I have in The Real Gone Hiccups. Dan Rumour’s the guitarist for The Cruel Sea. I’m like the organ grinders monkey, it’s a symbiotic relationship. They need me as a front man as the monkey. I need them as musicians.
Different things inspire me at different times. I’ve been to art school, did a year of drawing study with a master artist Jeanette Scott, when I was 18. I then did another 3 years so I’ve done my degree. The rest is just on the job training. I worked with the National Trust casting Norman Lindsay statues into bronze. I’ve done some weird and wonderful things with art and music. I made it happen. I did my work experience with JJ Radio at high school, interviewed The Clash and Madness at 16. That was my apprenticeship. If it’s creative I’ll do it.
This exhibition has been built for Nick Barovsky’s window on the corner of Magellan St and Carrington. Over a decade ago a lass named Lisa who worked for council came to me and said they wanted to do something like King St in Newtown where they fill up the shopfronts with art. The whole street turns into a gallery. You drove in a bus down King street and it’s all lit up at night. Just fabulous! I was asked to do that for Lismore so we did a project called ‘Dressing the Windows. We had a about 30 shopfronts given to us around the CBD and we filled them with art. After it was finished Nick said I could keep using his window. That was well over 10 years ago. I’ve built this show especially for the window. This show will have over 50 new pieces. They are little so I can have a massive show in a little space. I’ve worked to make each one a masterpiece, they are detailed little works. It opens on the 15th April at 6pm and runs till 15th May. Jenny Dowell will be opening it. All pieces will be for sale.”