For the longest time, all I really wanted was a little cabin in the woods where I could draw, paint, surf, and maybe rock out to a party or three if the isolation got too much.
Fast forward to today and that dream still feels as far away as it did 30 years ago. Funny how the simplest things can be the hardest to achieve … or maybe I’m just taking the long and winding road to get there.
Not that I’m complaining. I’ve been blessed with a healthy family, a thriving business filled with good humans, and I’m kaitiaki of a special slice of whenua we’re shaping into our own version of paradise to share with others on the Coromandel Peninsula.
It’s an enviable lifestyle, and though there are times I could happily throw my phone deep into the Whangamaroro River, I feel like the hard graft is paying off – and I’m super grateful for where I am.
My interest in all things arty began at MBAS where our graphic design teacher, Mr Rowe, let us play the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, or occasionally Rage Against the Machine on his converted car stereo hooked to a car battery. As 5th and 6th formers, we thought this was epic.
The only catch? Do the mahi – and listen to at least one side of Mr Rowe’s Credence Clearwater Revival tape first.
Genius in hindsight, as most of us were so focused (and loath to lose our listening privileges) that by the second half of class Mr Rowe could leave us to it and go catch up with his woodwork teacher mate.
Almost ten years after leaving school, I returned to study in Hamilton and gained a degree in visual arts, majoring in painting and sculpture.
Wintec was churning out starry-eyed graphic designers by the hundreds, and I was behind the 8-ball learning Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, so I pivoted to painting and illustration instead of graphic design.
Coming back to the Coromandel was a breath of fresh air after my stint in the ’Tron, and I was determined to get off the tools and give my art career a decent crack. Life had other ideas. After a few carefree bachelor years, I had a young family and a mortgage, so I went out on my own landscaping – still illustrating and painting in the evenings.
I’ve always enjoyed illustration as well as the more ‘high brow’ world of fine art painting and admire artists who successfully blend the two.
It’s an odd, eclectic mix of paintings, illustrations and half-baked propositions I’ve handed over to the Coromind team for this article – but they’re a rock-and-roll kind of outfit, and I’m confident they’ll pull something together from the rubble and make me look good.
Thanks for taking the time – and never forget: it’s a long way to the shop if you wanna sausage roll.
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