MIDDLETON, Phil

I love the process of drawing and painting, attempting to tell a story or at least let the viewer make up their own stories, or express an emotion or feeling not just paint a picture. That is probably why I paint portraits, not so much to get a likeness, although important, but to express a feeling or a person’s character

I was born in Sydney in 1950 and brought up in Bathurst in country NSW.

I entered local art competitions from about the age of 12 painting mainly in poster paints. At 16 I joined the army as an apprentice and spent 3 years at Mt Martha in Victoria. I continued to draw portraits and paint mainly in left over house paint and in my second year my trade teacher asked if I could paint backdrops for the local theatrical society’s play, it was the inside of an Arabian palace. Being a brash teenager I said yes, which lead to my first commission and a start in oils. I was asked to paint a happy clown, a sad clown and Don Quixote. Payment was the canvases and a beginners box of oil paints. I was faced with two problems; how to paint with oils and who the hell was Don Quixote.

I am self-taught and owe any knowledge I have to books, especially the Walter Forster series of “How to” books, trial and error and listening for gems from artists or those who have been formally trained. My first art class was when I retired at 61 and started to paint regularly. I joined the Diamond Valley Art Society and started to exhibit. On moving to the Gold Coast and joining the Royal Queensland Art Society I have exhibited regularly in the RQAS exhibitions and now teach a class at RQAS.

My first adult award was a Highly Commended as DVAS and I have won eleven awards at RQAS.

Contact Details:

Phone: 0437626222

email: p.jmiddleton@bigpond.com