The videos featured on this website are a collaboration with film maker Tracey Anderssen. The video of Duncan Bridgeman from 1 Giant Leap was the first of many synchronistic meetings. It’s hard to believe that she  started using a video camera only a year ago and has also just started to learn about the editing process. Tracey seems to have found her passion and it's now hard to get her off her imac! Duncan asked me to paint him before flying off to promote the latest 1 Giant Leap film 'What About Me' . It was an exciting time , the film had just been shown to a full house at the Byron Cinema’s and Duncan's creative genius had inspired us all and we were lucky enough to be invited  to a private gig held in Byron with another brilliant musician, Simon Lewis from 'Amanaska'.

During the gig a film Tracey had made about my journey as an emerging artist showed  and Duncan was interested in what I was doing and he asked me if I would like to paint him. Of course I jumped at the opportunity! The next day  Jenny, a friend of Duncan's and a beloved Bay Fm announcer joined us and we all headed off to my studio for a painting and drawing session. On the  way to the studio Duncan offered Tracey his camera to film the session with. This was one of the camera's used to film 'What About Me', Tracey was thrilled! The quick thinking of Duncan gave us an opportunity to capture the session. In a way it was the beginning of many collaborations with local musicians and artists producing videos that capture the wealth of talent in the Byron Bay area. Tracey enjoys collaborating with artists of all mediums and has worked on several projects which can be viewed at Rare Bird Flicks

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We are all choreographers of our own life story.  'Grow' represents the movement and grace in all of us. It's about moving forward and following our dreams. The essence of ballet is movement and the relationship between ballet and brush on canvas is complementary. The gift of ballet is conveying a story without words. A painting can also convey a story without words. When a painting becomes independent of the creator, the painting can break the static and move - in a sense, grow. The movement of paint on canvas, the brushes and materials that are used are the puppetry that allows the symmetry and rhythm in the painting to find its harmony and balance.  It is then that the dancers are revealed, their weightless bodies in harmony with spirit, taking us back to the early Romantic ballet of ethereal grace.

 Grow  99 x 130cm    Acrylic on linen 2008  More paintings and Stories

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More than 50 years ago, during world War 11, Australian journalist Lorraine Stumm at the age of 25 was assigned as a war correspondent for the London Daily Mirror. Evacuated from Singapore just before it fell to the Japanese, she joined General MacArthur's headquarters in Brisbane and from 1941 until the surrender of Japan, she reported the war as Australia's first accredited woman war correspondent. She was awarded the Asiatic Pacific Service Star by General MacArthur for her services as a war correspondent in New Guinea. Despite the hard conditions and discrimination from some of her male colleagues, she kept the news flowing from New Guinea, the Philippines and Micronesia.

Lorraine was born a romantic and thankfully for those of us who became part of her life, has always remained so. Whether tilting at windmills in her first job as a young reporter on the London Daily Mirror, as a wife and mother prepared to risk all for the sake of her husband and child, as a war correspondent covering the hideous fall out of world conflict, as a first newspaper proprietor, as a beautiful and stylish fashion editor to royal tours, as a boss, and most of all as a friend, she displayed an integrity and generosity of spirit that stamped her life as a special human being. Most romantics are also adventurers and Lorraine was no exception as  her story demonstrates. She thrived on a challenge, was loyal to the point of lunacy to those she befriended and  refused to accept defeat on issues of conviction. Who else would have thrown an ink pot at a formidable editor of the Sydney Daily Mirror and won admiration from the late Sir Frank Packer for her gutsy style?  Life as a correspondent for the London Daily Mirror meant that Lorraine  got to meet a number of film stars, interviewing such greats as Robert Taylor, Maureen O'Sullivan, Gary Cooper and Lionel Barrymore. A highlight for her was talking to George Bernard Shaw on the telephone when Sir James Barrie died and she remembers him saying: "Well, well, so Barries dead, I suppose I'll be next."

One of her most sensational stories was of French air-women, Madame Irene Schmeder who shot her lover as   she flew him across the channel because he told her their  romance was finished. After he ditched her, she ditched him by pushing his body out of the plane. Shocked by her crime she crashed the plane which had been given to her by her millionaire husband to mark her success as a pilot in several European air races. The plane came down on a farm in Kent and she was rescued by the farm owner and his family and taken to their home, where a doctor was summoned. While recuperating in Kent, Irene became friendly with the family and kept in touch with them during her trial in France, where she was acquitted by a sympathetic jury on the grounds that it was a "crime passionelle" A year later the family invited her to their daughter's wedding. The fact leaked out to the press that she was to cross to England by the New Haven Dieppe ferry.  Lorraine was told to charter a plane and fly to Paris immediately, locate Madame Schmeder and bring her to England  so as to get a special story for the London Daily Mirror.  She arrived in France and no one knew who she was for she couldn't speak French. Off she went, located Irene Schmeder and of course she didn't tell her she was a English journalist or else the French woman would have run a mile. Posing  as a friend of the English family, Lorraine then  had to keep Irene  away from the 'snooping press'. She entertained Irene for five days, sightseeing and dining in Paris, spending lavishly her newspaper's money and spiriting her across the English channel scooping her colleagues with a front page article. 

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ALBUM Cover Story  "Very Unique Existence"

Last October I went with a group of my friends to Ballina on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to relax and listen to some live local music, the band "Very Unique Existence" were back in town after touring and planning to unwind with an unplugged session at the Shaw Bay Hotel in East Ballina. I got there and a good mate of mine, Ono and his 2yr old son Johan were down at the water’s edge enjoying the sun, sand and birds, taking some time out before the gig was scheduled to start. After a while the bands planned start time didn’t happen, everyone started to wonder and asking questions “are the band playing?” We waited around and listened to the support group and eventually a friend Nadine, informed us  that the lead singer Rich Latimer’s younger brother, Taylor, had been involved in a serious car crash in the early hours of that morning and that Rich had  flown directly to Sydney, to be with him in Intensive care.

All the fears and all the concerns for Rich’s brother and his well-being created an out pouring of goodwill and good wishes, prayers and hopes. Against all odds and medical science with an admitted Glasgow Comma Scale of 3 (being below brain dead) he is now at home dealing with slight behavioural issues but on the whole an incredible full recovery. Rich mentions that the biggest issue for Taylor after the crash is some frontal lobe damage, that makes his already incredibly perceptive wit and humour even more pronounced to the point where he can pick the irony and dry hard truth in any situation and tell it exactly as it is, even when it’s not “appropriate” his favourite saying is “but it’s the truth, isn’t it?”

Taylor's Song

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The drawing "The Three of Us" is about the unconditional love between father and son and their dog "Chewy". The drawing is also about time spent apart and how precious moments together are treasured. Simple activities like going to the movies or throwing a ball with Chewy are etched in the mind.

The unique role that the father plays in shaping his son's life is unspoken. The drawing is also a testament to my close friend's selfless and humble nature as a father and the close bond he and his son share. "The Three of Us" is also about a young man growing up and his gifts being revered - his humour, talents, growing independence and immense love for his father. 

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This large scale drawing is my interpretation of a 19th century oil painting that Robert Plant found in an antique store in England which was subsequently used  on the cover of "Led Zeppelin IV". The painting is of an old man carrying a large bale of sticks.  The small dark framed painting hangs from a demolished interior of an old peeling papered plastered wall.  It is said that the front cover art for Led Zeppelin IV represents looking after the earth rather than pillaging it.

The image of the old country man always intrigued me - the image is like a doorway to the past ! The drawing I have done was about stepping into that time and interpreting the old man hunched over with his bale carrying his load in a country setting.

The painting captured my attention and I always wondered what he would look like if he looked at me directly with his gaze and wisdom. It was Jimmy Page's idea not to have a title for  the album (it became known as Led Zeppelin IV) invoking the old saying "a picture tells a thousand words". The cover art for the untitled album is truly wonderful and the drawing is simply about interpreting the original 19th century painting. Left. Adrian, a huge led zep fan, with the drawing

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Painting and drawing live cello music is about merging the sounds and rhythms into a visual experience on canvas. The choice of drawing  and materials becomes easy because the mind is free to respond to each note intuitively, not thinking to much and more about taking risks. Drawing live cello music is about staying in the moment, improvising what you see and trusting that you are part of creating a symbiosis between you and the musician.

Recently I had a live sitting with David Rose, a beautiful cellist from Adelaide. The drawing session was about capturing the pure enjoyment of the cello experience, the deep warm tones and that moment of the cellist being one with the instrument. David's love of the cello is inspiring, he has been playing since he was 9 years old, his facial expressions are interesting to draw and interpret.

Through observing cellists I have been touched by the intense love between the artist and their instrument. The vibration and movement of the eyes, head and hands is graceful and powerful to witness. I'm interested in exploring the relationship between musician and instrument and find live sittings inspirational. I prefer the musician to use their intuition and

improvise producing an energy that cannot be found listening to a recording. When the drawing begins to flow a tempo develops between artist and musician and inhibitions seem to disappear.

"Drawing the Cello" is about the moments during a  a cello performance, in that moment of completion when the sound, the feeling, and the movement still resonates and lingers in the air, in the stillness.  It is for the viewer to interpret in their own way what this cello drawing means to them. The live drawing session was a moment in time and time itself has allowed the cello image to express its own meaning.

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When Mick Mc McHugh introduced himself to me at an artist's gathering in Byron Bay I was immediately at home with his Irish dialect that has surrounded me all my life. I was born in Australia but having Irish parents and spending time in Ireland I was struck by Micks authentic Irish spirit. I thought this guy's the real deal. He really love's the Craic and can sing to boot. A true artist. A Dubliner like my mother, Micks joyful nature is translated into songs and his lyrics offer a deep commentary on life and it's complexities.

Locally he's known as the Irish Cat Stevens and is a hard working and committed artist who is also involved in many community projects and fundraisers. While watching him play with his band at The Rails recently, I was struck at how magnetic his music has become, lots of interaction with his audience and  beautiful songs sung with passion and hope, a new twist on the classic Irish Galie.

I  recently did a sketch of Mick, his facial expressions, although animated, have stillness and depth and his hair is wild and unruly, representing  a part of him. The drawing  "Essence of Me" is based  on a line in his song 'A Long Way From Home' when Mick sings 'but I have faith in me and the power when you believe'

Find out more about Micks gigs  http://www.mickmchugh.com/

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