Nude

76 x 61cms  1968

This is the only painting from my college days that made it to Australia. We had to do a life painting for the application to London's Royal College of Art but I never could do studio life paintings, creating a composition round a naked body posed against the background jumble of a studio, even for the sake of the discipline of painting form and shape. A bit like 'going for a walk'  but not going anywhere. So, I got some photos taken of me and did me in my bed-sit. I was painting on the smooth side of masonite back then, using house paint.

As it says in my CV I was awarded a place at the Royal College, (20 places out of hundreds of applicants), but declined. I'd been at art college for 5 years by then, had painted myself into a very deep hole and was almost completely loopy.

I did do a few more paintings after leaving college, but then the dole office found me a book-keeping job (in those days you HAD to take anything you were offered) so that was the end of that.