After leaving school in Perth in the early 1960’s, I went to sea as an apprentice (midshipman) with the Liverpool based Blue Funnel Line (Alfred Holt & Co).
I enjoyed about ten years at sea with a number of shipping companies, traveling to many fascinating parts of the world; including China and East Germany, coasting around Europe and Australia, and ending with a couple of adventurous years on the lighthouse tender MV Cape Don.
Sensing change in the outlook for a career at sea, I went on to university in Perth in the 1970’s and began a new career as a town and regional planner. I practised as a municipal planner, then as a director of development of a metropolitan regional centre, and concluded my career in the 2000’s as a sessional member of the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal.
I took up drawing and painting following retirement, initially concentrating on pastel drawings, then moved on to paint acrylic on canvas. My pictures are often based on memories of personal experiences and I try to compose them to ‘tell the story’ of that experience.
I hope my pictures of seafaring life in the 1960’s might convey something of the atmosphere and activities of an exciting and adventurous maritime era that is long gone; an era which I personally cherish and hope can be shared by these paintings.
Click the thumbnails to see details about each image
Awards & Achievements
Fremantle Port Authority sponsored exhibition ‘Paint the Port‘ 2020 – Commendation