Perspectives

I wonder what you are struggling with right now? I wonder what you are telling yourself about your own abilities? One day I was complaining to my son Tom about my total incapacity to do renovations. I had to arrange fencing quotes and landscaping. This is stuff I have no interest in and have never…

There is a tiny child in my garden. For her, it’s a wonderland. Falling leaves, bees and snails. So many sources of delight. She has this fantastic capacity to be happy. My friend Glenn and I entertain her while her parents choose a painting in the studio. She talks to us with her stumbling new…

A single piece of information can be transformative. It might be words that inspire. It might be an affirmation. It might be some practical solution to a problem. Looking back over my life, I recognise there has been a person who has consistently spoken transformative words. He was a young art teacher called Rob Malcolm.…

Some time ago The Guardian published a list of the best shows online. I was curious so I watched an episode of each one. That’s how I came across my favourite program, The Katering Show. I think each episode is a glittering diamond of perfection. Kate McCartney and writing partner Kate McLennan originally released The…

I met my wife in the passageway of the Printmaking Department. We were in the Fine Arts Building at the West Australian Institute of Technology and it was 1982. All I can really remember is I kept looking at her and she kept looking at the floor. I noticed that we both had a foreign…

I love Fremantle. I particularly love climbing up to the Roundhouse. It’s just a little hill with a little fort and a little cannon. I used to have so much fun taking my children there when they were small. Once a day the cannon is fired off with a boom and that is really something.…

Life brings precious moments of clarity. Such a moment came to me on a visit to the British Museum with my family. I was looking in a glass case at a jewel and diamond encrusted snuff box. I had my young son with me. I looked up and saw our reflection in the glass. At…

It’s only a few weeks since I last talked about my mother-in-law Judith. I knew her health was failing but I didn’t realise then how quickly we were going to lose her. At the farewell, I watched as each of her children spoke about their mother. It was so moving that they could speak on…

Big Margaret River Water Lily Pool Moon by Ken Rasmussen I am surrounded by Margaret River forest right now. Birds fly overhead and waterlilies spread themselves out across the water. The colours are vivid and I can feel the life in everything. This is the view in front of me as I sit in my…