After making a hasty escape from France in a pumpkin truck at the outbreak of the Second World War, I spent the war years in England.
Migrating to Australia after my father's death in the final weeks of the war, I grew up in Sydney. After spending six years in the Merchant Navy, sailing around Southeast Asia and the Pacific area, I was engaged in everything from black birding to collecting tropical fish for the Sydney Zoo. In my early 20's, I studied art at the Ashton Art School in Sydney and then at The Academy of Fine Art in Rome, where I met and married my beautiful wife.
Four years secondary teaching and three years college teaching followed, and then a bit of pioneering in Central New South Wales 500 miles of everywhere. We cleared the trees, fetched water with buckets from a canal and finally developed a 150 acre vineyard!
Arriving in Hobart, Tasmania a new direction was required and we established several businesses from jewellery, surf ware, chocolates to restaurants and everything else in between.
On retirement, we moved to Woodbridge 49km south of Hobart and planted more vines and olive trees.
Despite all this, I have kept on painting, travelling between realism and abstraction. Other hobbies in my spare time - antiques, ancient and modern history, philosophy and travel. Lastly, sitting with my friends with a good glass of red wine.
