Drawing with pencil, brush, pen, ink and wash on paper as well as painting in acrylic on canvas and etching into perspex printmaking plates are my chosen mediums in which to work. I work directly from life onto canvas or sketch book.
Dad, a professional Cartoonist ‘Esjay Smithson’, let me watch him work, thinking aloud for my benefit, as he made drawing decisions, dropping pearls of wisdom and tricks of the trade I absorbed.
I underwent a 4 year apprenticeship as a fashion illustrator and press artist in Sydney. I worked as a full-time freelance commercial artist and Illustrator for advertising agencies, trade and newspaper publishing houses. I studied life drawing, composition, painting and lettering at East Sydney Technical College night school.
When I went off on my travelling adventures I got work overseas illustrating educational material for teachers and primary schools.
I continued this work while settled down to family life in London.
I came to the Latrobe Valley so our son could know his grandparents. Here I painted murals with the children at his primary school every year.
I had always promised myself that if I was not a rich and famous illustrator I would return to Art School and study fine art, so I attended Churchill School of Art majoring in printmaking and returned to do a Masters in painting.
I started my own mural business that ran for 6 years, ‘Over the Walls’, and worked with teams of jobseekers to create large scale murals.
Then after a long sessional teaching career; designing and delivering courses across the board; I segued into special education.
David Hockney is my favourite living Artist.