ARTIST BIO

Gary won a prize at the Darwin Show for a small pencil sketch  in 1962. Apart from cartoons in the Darwin High School and later in the HMAS Brisbane ship newspapers he did not practice art until much later in life. In 2007 following a posting to Sydney as a  Navy Reservist he began his journey as a painter. In 2009 his painting Hammerhead Crane and Friends was selected to hang by Art Judge Margaret Olley in the Mosman Art Prize. Thus encouraged and especially after retirement at Narooma he continues to experiment with Acrylic Oil and Mixed Media. His painting of the Gallipoli landing featuring an aerial perspective (Gary is a former Navy Carrier pilot ) won the Heritage Prize at Narooma in 2015.

Two current works are on show in Frankson - Albert in Country completed to celebrate the return of the Intellectual Property  to Albert's descendants; featuring Alice Springs county made famous by Albert - Gary's father was Postmaster at Alice Springs  and Uluru circa 1967 after Darwin.

A second work A Tribute to the Brigade at Cobargo is an emotive work following the National Fires in 2019/2020. Gary met and consulted with the Narooma Fire Brigade in his lengthy research for this work the Brigade captain bringing the Fire Engine to Gary's home studio for close inspection. The scene depicts the moment a decision was reached to abandon Gary's favorite cafe at Cobargo in order to save the Cobargo Post Office. He describes the work as unfinished given the collective emotion attached.