Will Draw For Food

I am a great fan of the idea of the Barter System: I can create something you like, and you have something that I need. Trade.

I have had a pretty good spell of luck here in Győr, Hungary. I have met some incredible people that have reached out a helping hand to help nurture my art, feeling it was something worth aiding and assisting to grow. I am speechless when I think about the opportunities I have literally been handed this past year – it has given me so much confidence with what I am doing, to see that so many people have gone out of their way to give me the chance to devote myself entirely to painting. I myself have seen an obvious change in the size and caliber of my work; I feel it is a little sharper, a little more sophisticated than before.

Faced with a cold winter unlike anything else I have experienced back in sunny warm Australia, my two main concerns were obviously shelter and sustenance – the basics for survival. Through my art and the help of the Győr Art Museum I was able to acquire both. As amazing as figuring out a trade for my accommodation was, even more amazing was when a local restaurant, Szalai, decided to help me through the winter by providing me with a free meal a day in return for one of my paintings.

I tortured myself over what to paint for them, I wanted it to be something very special… but who knows if they would appreciate a flower decked maiden in a floral frock, or rouged coquette reclining on a Victorian lounge… so I opted for something simpler and more mainstream, choosing to paint a portrait/ intimate dining scene inside the restaurant.

 

I took it to a local framer, and I have to say I am thrilled with the result. I want to see ALL of my paintings framed ALWAYS; I think they look wonderful behind glass with a handsome frame :-}