Stormie - Artist

Stormie - Artist / photo by: Frances Andrijich  

What did you want to be when you grew up?
It’s not a question I can ever recall being asked as a child. I can remember there being plenty of conjecture about what people thought I should or could do but nobody seemed to want to know my opinion. I did however have a few - one was “world champion” much like Danny in the Ronald Dahl book.

Another was to escape sitting on top of a cupboard that sat under the carport, but which I knew was a flying cupboard. I also wanted to be able to use a screw driver as well as my Dad, other than that the general consensus seemed to be that I’d be an artist.

What did you become?
A painter, so far…

What's your official title?
As above.

What's your background - how did you end up here?
Mostly through being a wayward child. Strong, independent/naughty streaks lead me to spray cans & graffiti in 1982. In 1985 I set off to see the world and paint graffiti which brought me to here.

How would you describe your work to a complete stranger?
Contemporary, figurative.

What's the first thing career related you usually do each day?
Check emails.

Can you describe an "average" working day for you?
Computer related stuff in the morning, painting from lunch and drawing in the evening.

Who or what in the arts world most inspires you?
Plenty, anything. As Paul Smith said, “you can find inspiration in anything, if you didn’t, look harder”. A list of artists would be as long as your arms, but my true inspiration comes from the damaged sense of beauty you find in the world, despite the decay.

What's the toughest challenge you've dealt with on the job?
I’ve had many jobs & they all have tough challenges. I once worked as a SOCO [scenes of crime operative] and having to video murdered people was hard.

Last year I had to paint an 800m2 mural in 8 days, that was hard work. The biggest challenge, the hardest work is to keep going.

What's the best piece of advice you were ever given for your career?
That’s easy it came from Reg Bolton, a legend of the clown world, “love what you do, do what you love”.

What are the top three skills you need in your particular role?
To listen with your eyes, to always be adaptable to the circumstances in which you’re working and focus on what’s really important.

What's the best thing about your job?
What I do is an extension of who I am, I’ve been given an opportunity to use my hands to create images that speak to people, that resinate within people.

And the worst?
There is no worst.

And if you had to sum your working life in a word or phrase, what would it be?
To quote Albert Facey, “A fortunate life”.