Gary NJ Makin

Born 1952
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons)
Graduation show: 2009
Graduation ceremony: 2010

Artwork in Space YZ

Cockatoo Island, 2009
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 60 cm

My time at UWS began with deciding to try for a degree in art, where I gained an Honours degree and ended up completing a PhD in Humanities and Communication Arts. I had a lot of fun with my studies at UWS and its associated overseas universities, even though there was a lot of hard work involved -  being dyslexic and reading lots of heavy theory books is a challenge. The one thing I learnt was that theory is good to know, but creating artwork is far more important than rhetoric. So, I continue!

I am a musician (known as Dr. G.) and artist. As an artist I work in the fields of painting, drawing and print-making, with a few sculptures thrown in here and there. My main interest in art-making is working with layers and textures to create a visual impression of the imagery I witness as I travel around this world. Instead of applying the paint to the surface I like the feeling of the paint being dragged off the knife as I pass it over the painting surface. A similar thing happens when I play with layers and thicknesses of inks when I am print making. I apply the same approach when I am recording music and occasionally the music combines with the artwork to form an audio-visual experience.