I Love Drawing

In Derek’s own words: “Drawing gives you freedom to roam. A pencil and pad is all you need, and you can lean against a wall, in a pub, on a train, you can always draw.”

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Born in Southern England, my love of drawing really began in my late teens. I had left school at 15 years of age to start an apprenticeship as a carpenter and joiner, and remember while attending technical college drawing classes, which were a part of my apprenticeship, being told that I would make a better draftsman than carpenter.

By my early 20s I was married and during one particular rainy holiday, my wife Dot and I took a caravan in Norfolk England, and with no television or other comforts, we would venture out between showers and during one of our trips I bought a Broadlands Sketchbook which I still treasure today. This book inspired me to go out and sketch, a passion that has only grown over the years since that damp, grey-skied holiday focused my attention and made me look at the world from an artistic composition point of view.

Although I now have my own studio and was recently elected to the Western Australian Water Colour Society, I still love nothing more than heading off with my sketchbook to explore Western Australia’s quirky country towns or the bustling cities in and around Perth and Fremantle.