Why kickedarts.com and not kick arts or even kick arse? Good question...Why not keep it in the active tense and all that.

My view is that if you "kick arse" you must be kicking the arse or arses of something or someone else. This will certainly get you noticed but sounds risky long term. Whereas a kicked arse, that is a different thing.

Having my arse kicked by too much sun and surviving reminds me we experience time linearly, even if we argue it is not linear in nature. Hence, a kicked arse. Therefore, kicked arts.

Works for me anyway, since my life journey began in the rugged landscapes of Min Min country between Dajarra and Boulia in far-western Queensland, Australia. It’s been a long ride around and back since then via about 25 countries, four of which I lived in briefly – maybe five if we include Sydney.

​Returning to oils for the first time since school and university with some life experience is a wonderful thing. New Zealand artist Peter Geen resonates with me in seeking to be “regionally expressive” of our characters and places.

I suppose it’s possible to call yourself a paint smith without being too much of a narcissist, after being a professional “wordsmith” for some decades. Now that I’m old enough to know better, any time spent with a paint brush feels like a light breeze.

I’m also quietly confident we humans will find human-created artworks appealing even as we find the artificial all around us. I’m drawn to the great stillness of the Australian landscape, through observation and memory. Let’s see where it takes us.