My love of art oil painting, the relaxation, lowering of blood pressure after a stressful day working in a hot pressurized boiling point of a kitchen.

Being a chef as chefs know, it’s stressful enough, the pressure is always on demand and striving for perfection, which is art on a plate.

This artistic avenue which I have been playing with for over 50 years. Has been my escape from the reality of work, staff issues of trivia, the global problems of society that only governments can fix.

When I paint, issues abound peel away by layers of the day, nothing is more important than you, at that time.

1996 I was lucky enough to meet and study more professional painting technics under John Myatt, UK artist.

Mr. Myatt is a brilliant artist, who could copy an original paining from Picasso, Rembrandt etc… and sell for millions of pounds.  He was caught in 1995 for forgery, spent time for a crime. Now he teaches art and brush technics.

1997 I had my first art exhibition, this was exciting, stressful, humiliating, fun, ordinary, posh all rolled into one. Criticism, like cooking, you need thick skin and take comments on the chin. “Everyone is an artist” like “everyone is a chef”

People ask “do you sell all your paintings” I guess in reality “NO”

I donate some artwork for charity, raising monies for a cause is more important, to help and benefit others less fortunate. Believe we all have a talent, mine is food and what you can create, eat, and enjoy with friends, painting what you can achieve with colour, my animals they give unconditional love, my garden which gives me joy.

I have been asked what you like to paint. Portraits, landscapes from where I grew up on a dairy / sheep farm central highland of Victoria, man from snowy river country, that is another story to be told.  

I copy from pictures of the internet, photographs, other artists woks, if I am coping from a master artist there is always a flaw placed in the painting to ensure not an original, portraits I enjoy, bring the canvas alive and seeing a face appear.

This is MY STORY Jeffrey Gear