My maternal grandmother,Hazel,grew up in the NSW Hunter Valley. She was a countrywoman.
Her father,James Marshall,was an amazing man. During a trip to England,he deemed that there must be a God after being moved by a performance of Handel’s Messiah,so became a Presbyterian minister.
It had a profound effect on my grandmother – she was very pious. But when my mum,Valerie,and my dad,John,were divorcing,she became my mother,in a way. I stayed with her in Sydney’s Mosman as a boy. I’d lie on her lap as we watched theABC news. She’d give me a puff of her cigarette.
My parents met when they were both married. Mum was Dad’s student at the National Art School. He’d just returned from two years in Spain and was dressed like a matador. She fell madly in love with his mind.
Mum was well read in art and painted as passionately as my father did – she just didn’t have the ego. They had a strong intellectual relationship. His art never overshadowed hers,as she made a decision to prioritise my younger sister,Louise,and me. She didn’t seek success or public appraisal. For her,being an artist was personal.
I felt jealous when Louise was born,as I was knocked off the breast before my time. It was all about me and then it wasn’t. Louise is angelic but ambitious at the same time. I exhibit her work at my gallery,as she’s rediscovered her capacity to paint. She has a tremendous career as an artist beyond her company,Dinosaur Designs.
My first kiss was with Arkie Whiteley. We were at a party with our parents. I was 14 and she was about 11,going on 20. It was a proper French kiss and I was besotted. Arkie had grown up quickly,as she’d witnessed so many things in her childhood. She was beautiful and confident,but at the same time,vulnerable. Her early death[aged 37,from cancer] was so tragic.
Her mother, Wendy,and I have a very good relationship. We have both struggled with addiction,and we both understand how complex living an art life is,being a wife or child of an artist.
I met my first wife,Harriet France,at 29. She was an equestrian. We had a society wedding at Darling Point with a horse-drawn carriage to the reception. We were young and a bit silly. We drifted apart but remain good friends.