Art meets science in sophistication 'by the boardwalk'

Image: Art of the Redlands

THE freedom of art met scientific precision on Sunday when bayside painters showed their creativity in the Raby Bay restaurant precinct. The three-hour exhibition and demonstration has been among events in the first Ignite Redlands Light Arts Festival, a new community-based move to celebrate the arts in "beautiful Redlands".

The painters in a happy band with a simple but telling name, Art Lovers, are developing their skills with the guidance of a valued member of this newspaper's classified advertising community.

MANY readers know Stephen Holliday as the razor-witted properietor of Bayside Mobile Sharpening, a regular advertiser in The Redland Times and Bayside Bulletin trade services pages. Stephen has also taught art for more than 20 years and has run his school and associated art supply service in the bayside suburbs while he has kept busy sharpening for a wide range of clients "from restaurants, hairdressers, pet groomers and veterinary surgeries to hospitals, retirement villages and of course tradies of all descriptions". Perhaps more than most art teachers, Stephen knows the importance of a sharp pencil. That's where art meets science.

BORN and reared in the industrial city of Newcastle, Stephen practised his art from a young age then qualified in the highly disciplined field of pattern making with the then NSW State Dockyard. Along the way he picked up many awards for painting in community exhibitions including the Hunter region's Mattara festival. Before Stephen and his wife, Carmel, moved to Ormiston in 1990 he worked for many years as a travelling consultant with a hand tool company. The couple now live in Cleveland.

"BAYSIDE Mobile Sharpening was to initially run between the Logan River and Brisbane River and out to the highway," he says. "Sometimes I feel we should call it Brisbane Mobile Sharpening, due to the fact that there aren’t many mobile sharpeners around and I am getting calls from all over. "I have sharpened tools and machinery blades since my apprenticeship days in 1969, and I am able to sharpen pretty much anything with an edge, with the equipment I have, including specialised machinery to tackle the more difficult jobs. "Some clients post items from out west or arrange a drop-off point at our home. I have slogans like, 'Best prices at your convenience' and 'The perfect result gives you the edge'.”

IT is no surprise that Stephen's art is in the realist category with his group focusing mainly on landscapes and seascapes. He says last Sunday's successful event has been a preview for Art by the Boardwalk, which aims to draw visitors from afar to the the Redlands' beloved Raby Bay on the first Sunday each month.

This column has appeared in The Redland Times.