Huon Madonna Sculpture

Although I started work as a draftsman and then as a designer and a technical writer until 1976 when I founded and ran a successful construction company, I have practised art all life, studying with several well known Australian artists including Ambrose Dyson and Noel Counihan and Vic O'Conner. In 1983 I left portraits, abstracts and landscape painting to take up sculpture after attending a sculpture course with the famous sculptor Bert Fugleman who came up to my new home town of Bellingen on the North Coast of New South Wales. In 1999 I won the major prize at the Royal Easter show in Sydney which encouraged me to continue my creative urges sculpting the local timbers. I use the buttresses, roots, forked limbs and butts of the now rare Australian Red Cedar and Rosewood trees scavenged or bought locally in the Bellinger valley or on the Dorrigo Plateau (I also love the 5000 year old Tasmanian Huon pine as a medium). To finish works intended for interior display I apply between 30 and 40 coats of “French Polish” (Shellac) between every coat I rub the wood down with “))))” extra fine steel wool, for exterior pieces I use 2 or 3 coats of Cabots external varnish. Since 2007 I have been spending 6 months every year working and exhibiting in Southern France based the the Cevennes village of Le Vigan, there I work mainly with Chestnut and Walnut but also citrus and Oak. My sculptures are represented in collections in England, France, USA, Russia, Germany, Japan, France and in Australia. My works are on permanent display at my gallery “Intertwined” located at 96 Old Pacific Highway Raleigh NSW Australia.