About
Born in Bordertown SA 1948, Ian’s childhood years were spent on the foreshore of Hervey Bay. It was here that his deep love of ships and the sea. By the age of 8 he was actively painting with watercolours, moving to oils when he was 11. His first oil survived and hangs in his Hunters Hill studio.
Joining the Royal Australian Navy at 15 as an apprentice shipwright, he served 12 years reaching the rank of Chief Petty Officer. He saw active service in Vietnam 1967–68. Ian painted continually in off-duty hours, recording the ships and scenes he observed during his travels.
Prouds Art Gallery offered him his first one-man exhibition in 1974 while he was still in the Navy. The success of this show convinced him to try becoming a full-time artist once his service time expired in 1975.
After a brief stint of cruising and painting on board a 38 ft yacht, he built a studio overlooking the Whitsunday Islands. This idyllic location was too far from the art world, and he returned to Sydney in 1981. Married with 3 children and 4 grandchildren, Ian lives in Hunters Hill, Sydney; his studio is the converted stables in the rear garden.
He regularly sails on his classic 45′ cutter ‘Karalee’, and crews on board the Barque ‘James Craig’ on her extended voyages. These trips reinforce Ian’s deep understanding of the sea. His illustrated log books are always viewed with great interest by visitors to his studio.
In 2000, Ian was invited by the Royal Australian Navy to go to East Timor and record the Navy’s involvement during the crisis. He spent time on several ships sketching and painting — the resulting works now hang in the Navy’s Fleet Headquarters. Ian’s Log and Sketch books are now in The Australian War Memorial collection in Canberra.
In 2002, Ian joined the ice ship ‘Sir Hubert Wilkins’ on a five-week voyage to Antarctica. Part of his illustrated log from that expedition is reproduced on this site.
Ian works mainly on commission and exhibits with ‘The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport’ in Connecticut, USA. The gallery hosts ‘The Annual International Art Exhibition’ and, since his first acceptance in 1987, Ian has won 8 major awards in this competition.
In 2002, he was appointed one of the Gallery’s ‘Premier Artists’ — only 20 are appointed worldwide. Ian is also a member of “Kevin Hill’s Top 10 Australian Artists,” who exhibit several times each year.
Ian is a Fellow of The Royal Art Society, a Fellow of The Australian Institute of History and Arts, and a Fellow of The Australian Society of Marine Artists. His works hang in Government House Sydney, the Sydney Stock Exchange, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Heritage Fleet, Royal Australian Navy, Naval Historical Society, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum & Gallery, the AMP Building, and many corporate and private collections throughout the world.