A few years ago I was in a small place called Millthorp in NSW and staying at a friends place. Her two daughters had some noisy but nice and cheeky friends visiting them and they questioned, or preached maybe, to me about the madness of abstract art.

Another instance was in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and a man was looking at a huge and beautiful Sydney Nolan. He said in a chuckling way: 'Don't you think I could do that too, Paul?', (he was a surgeon) and my answer was: 'Maybe P., who knows (trying to be polite) but the fact is you don't and he did'.

The kids in Millthorpe made it harder, so I had to trick them. I suggested: 'What if say Beyonce or Mick Jagger sat on a cushion in your room and find a tiny brown fart mark on your chair after one or the other had left . What would you do?'. 'Wash it, man, ugggh, how disgusting'. My answer: 'You are kidding yourselves, you'd cut it out and frame it! To all your friends it would look like you have an abstract art thing hanging on your wall'. After a while, one of the boys admitted that I could possibly be right.
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Many people ask me: 'who is your favourite painter?'
We all have our favourite someone. Talk to guys and they talk with tears in their eyes about some football player or cricketer. Some more 'cultured' people can be over the moon for some cellist or writer..

Or car.

My favorites I never know. I liked the famous Australian Brett Whitley, and... don't know enough. Been scattered around too much on this globe. I generally like people who paint and often feel a bond from understanding. I need to meet a dentist who also loves to paint. Get rid of a phobia.
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