I was born in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in 1942, and have generations of artists in my family. I arrived in Melbourne in 1956.

 

My earliest memory of being rewarded for my artwork was when my kindergarten teacher pinned my drawing of a boy turning on a water tap to the classroom wall. Pinning artwork (or anything else) to a wall was never done in those days. I was four at that time. I don’t remember the nun's name, but I believe her encouragement was the impetus for my career today. Now, 79 years later, I can recall that drawing well enough to reproduce it. (2025)

 

I have held 42 solo exhibitions, including a successful London show in 2006 and, with a group of artists, each with a solo section, a show in Shanghai with the Australian Trade Commission in 2008.

 

Although I mainly paint, I also love to sculpt and write. My first international success was a sculpture based on C J Dennis’ poem, “The Sentimental Bloke,” which was sold in New York in 1994.

I wrote my autobiography in 2025, and I am currently writing a play about Rembrandt and Vincent van Gogh.

 

My large stone-and-steel sculptures, “Forks in Spuds,” were featured in a two-month solo exhibition across six locations around Federation Square and on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne in 2008. The sculptures were part of an artistic response to the United Nations’ call for an end to world hunger. They are now permanently placed beside the Princess Highway near Trafalgar, Victoria, Australia.

 My 39th Exhibition, “The Infinite Birdcage”, was shut down a few days into a six-week season to comply with the first Covid lockdown in Victoria.

Since then, I have relied on people who are interested in this exhibition to visit my website. Several have been sold here in Australia and OS  

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