Des Parkin

It is a pleasure to share my art journey, which is very like that of many VAS members who enjoy painting but perhaps have never had either the commitment or capacity to become a professional artist.

Des Parkin, winner of The Poetry of Watercolour Exhibition with his artwork First Light Williamstown

Arbitration

Early encouragement came from my mother, who was for a time a student at the Gallery School and, no doubt like many VAS members, had an inspiring high school art teacher. Twice a week we had an hour of art history and an hour of watercolour sketching.

Covid Housescape

Studying medicine, I spent most of my professional life at Heidelberg and Austin Hospitals. There, my path crossed with several artists including William Rickets, William Frater, and Ray Parkin who illustrated Weary Dunlop’s war diaries. After post-graduate studies, I enrolled with the artist Dudley Wood who was involved in the Swinburne Art School.

Daphnis and Chloe

In the mid-1970s I was fortunate to work in Harrow UK, next door to the Northwick Park Polytechnic Art School. So it was protein chemistry during the day and oil painting at night under the eagle eye of a Slade graduate. Twenty-five years ago, retiring from full-time medicine, I harassed a succession of painting teachers. Bryan Fitzgerald for watercolour, and at VAS, Ray Hewitt and Stephen Doyle with oils. These were great learning experiences but equally important as a strong social glue where I made lifelong friends.

Kilcunda Bridge

I joined the AMA Art Group in the 1990s which, for more than 50 years, had an annual exhibition at VAS. In 2009 a Jubilee Retrospective Exhibition unfortunately marked the decline in this excellent body of enthusiasts which was overtaken by time and circumstances. This morphed into my membership of VAS. I must make particular mention of Greg Smith who was VAS President and, for years, a stellar leader of Sunday paint-outs and wonderful trips away – many Easter visits to Maldon. In a similar vein, Alan Rawady, former AGRA President and VAS councillor, led memorable painting trips all over Victoria. In recent times, it has been my good fortune to meet Ben Winspear. Ben taught us before Covid and during the epidemic, he maintained several inspired Zoom sessions which kept us engaged and active while the virus raged.

Office Works

My own painting has been a mixed bag of oils, watercolours, linocut prints and even at one point attempting, with mixed success, to make my own pastels! My stylistic models are perhaps early William Dobell and especially Arnold Shore landscapes. I would very much have liked to develop a personal inimical style which might have been abstracted but figurative. However the leap to singular creativity eludes me and I guess at my advanced age, this situation will continue. I have the greatest admiration for the true artist who can metamorphose from technical competence to an individually unique voice.

Ross Tasmania

On retirement I had visited a few galleries in Europe and the US, but truthfully my art education had been limited. I attempted to remedy this by haunting antiquarian bookshops and Amazon.com to assemble an extensive art library, which has given me much pleasure. I must finally mention Bruce Baldey who has energized the VAS magazine and encouraged a bit of a bookish chat.