Neil Whalebone

My interest in art began at an early age with my father trying to explain perspective to me on a piece of paper at the kitchen table. I drew a road gradually disappearing over distant hills; this was my lesson in art and the start of my art journey. Encouraged by a friend and a photographer, I enrolled in a fine-art photography course in 1988 at the Australian College of Photography Art & Communication in Melbourne and I started to take art more seriously; it was a fantastic experience. After four years juggling work,  ACPAC classes in the evenings and life's challenges, I was named 'student of the year' in my graduating year at ACPAC. I learned a lot about art but photography had to take a back seat whilst I concentrated on work. In 2020 during the Covid lockdown I started to get more interested in painting - trying acrylic and oil painting and watching many Youtube videos for tips and inspiration. Currently I am having some success exhibiting with Gasworks Art gallery, Tacit Art gallery, Victorian Artists Society and selling paintings online through Bluethumb.  My main influences have been fine-art photographers Stephen Shore and William Eggleston both landscape photographers which probably explains why I like the paintings of Edward Hopper, William Wray, and Tim Horn.  My paintings are mainly the beauty and loneliness of suburban and rural landscapes.  I like to  combine traditional realism with the energy of abstract painting and my art is therefore an ongoing evolution .. trying to find a balance between two seemingly unrelated styles.