Ron McBurnie

I have lived and worked in Townsville since 1980. It is a city in the northern tropical part of the east coast of Australia. The weather here in summer can be fairly humid but from May to October it is exceptional.

I was a born a baby boomer, a little too late to be a hippy but early enough to have observed and appreciated the music and visual art produced during that period. Music is an important part of my life. I collect records, for the enjoyment I get from the music and innovative cover designs. I play records in the studio when I paint or make etchings. Their sounds do not directly influence my work but put me in a particular state of mind where I can mentally move in and through the image I am constructing.

The information I draw upon in my work comes from a variety of different sources; from contemporary and historical art as well as visual observations gathered directly from life. Ideas for artworks may come from obscure and seemingly unconnected bits and pieces of information but become linked and act as one within the structure of an individual work. As each new work progresses lessons learned while making earlier works are used and developed further.

Many of the artworks I have made usually form part of a series of other related works. The series may sometimes take a number of years to complete. As I grow older and I see the world differently, I hope that the new images I make evolve and adapt to suit my own personal changes.