WALCHA artist and farmer Stephen King needed just one word to describe his feelings about becoming the third person to exhibit 20 times at Sculpture by the Sea.
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"Old," he said.
Before the outdoor sculpture exhibition, the art of sculpting was relatively unknown in Australia, he said.
"I've been a sticker," he said.
"I've kept on exhibiting the whole way through, and they've kept on accepting the sculptures that I've put up, so that's been very nice."
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"Having an exhibition like that every year, you can actually just concentrate and put a decent sculpture in," Mr King said.
His sculpture Grid Study IV is a timber abstract construction using straight logs modified into truss beams.
Mr King said he played around with the logs until he got something interesting that represented the grid.
"I think we all use the grid unconsciously to navigate, for all sorts of reasons, but the grid seems to be a human thing," he said.
"These structural elements are slightly off-key because they are handmade and each one is a different response to the tree that it came from."
In 2020 King was the recipient of a $30,000 Helen Lempriere Scholarship aiming to foster and promote contemporary Australian sculpture.
He used some of the winnings to travel to Alice Springs for a painting trip and to make improvements to his studio.
His place of residence doesn't inspire his art as such - but he uses Australian hardwood logs and windfall from his farm in Walcha.
After finishing art school in the 1980's, Mr King returned to his family's property.
He said he realised he didn't have the training to do much else other than work on the farm and make art.
"Working on the farm was kind of the best and most convenient way for me to go, and I love farming," he said.
"So that's all been good and lucky, because most artists really do have to have an alternative income to be able to survive."
Sculpture by the Sea in Bondi will run from October 21 until November 7.
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Eva Baxter
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
