You can't win em all

A big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for us in the Suncorp Helping Hand peoples choice. Unfortunately we didn't get the prize but we appreciate every vote that was made.
Speaking of winners, last night I took some photos of some of the boys in town painting. These guys are part if a community group I have been working with designed to encourage young graffiti artists to paint responsibly. The sessions include mentoring by local artists, workshops and field trips.

Last week a sketching comp was held and the winners got to paint on the workshop walls. Getting to see these guys in action was so rewarding as I usually only see them from the other side of the counter when they come with their parents to buy paint.

I have often pondered the role of graffiti in our town and take seriously the social responsibility of selling paints designed for this style of art, particularly in a town that takes such a negative view of the art form. I have even recently teased our Mayor for being an 'old fuddy-duddy' for being anti-graffito ( he then fessed up to being secretly keen on a bit of stencil work) because at the end of the day, as an artist and gallery owner I'm excited to see our community expressing itself through the medium of painting!

I have tried painting via spray can and it's very, very hard... Even for an artist with my experience, so to see young people so engaged and proficient in their artwork was very inspiring.
Congrats guys and keep up the good work!

X Steph