ARTIST BIO

                                         Ron Farnill,

Born 1927 in the inland city of Leeds Yorkshire England. Ron had an inbuilt love of the sea, and as a child he could not understand why his parents who took him to the seaside for holidays didn't live there. When older his inborn love of the sea took him in his spare time to the Yorkshire coast and eventually to serve in the Royal Navy during World War 2. 

After migrating to Australia, he continued a cycling career both as a amateur and profesional until a fall compelled him to find another area for his competitive spirit. This led him to Westernport Yacht Club at Balnarring and a boat of his own. He soon found yachts dont have brakes! Then he progressed from mono hulls to catamarans and to the World A class Championship, later to trailer sailors, to keel boats and Ocean Racing; all the while fully aware and respectful of the sea and the vageries of the weather.

Sea going days over the time came when Ron decided to use his talent to capture these experiences and memories on paper, bringing the ambience onto dry land. His skilful use of watercolour,colour harmony,composition of shapes and obvious enjoyment of painting makes his 'maritime portraits' a continuing joy to those fortunate to posses one.

At present Ron is sharing his enthusiasm and knowledge with less experienced painters by conducting demonstrations at Art society's, Rotary Art Shows, one day workshops at Peninsula Arts Society, and now teaching Watercolour at Oak Hill Gallery, Mornington 

His first art award came in 1939, a national schools competition in England,and now it is in excess of 100 awards. After a long break from art he recommenced in oils. Then thanks to the help and enlightenment provided by the great watercolourst Robert Wade he stepped up to watercolor, and is now adicted to the wondeful unpredictable medim, Ron now paints for the pure pleasure and enjoyment of watercolour. He is a strong believer in inherited memory and is sure many of his works evolve from his seafaring ancestors. In his work he endeavours to project a mood or feeling, most of his work are from imagination, he rarely uses reference material and when he does it is in the very early ideas sketch's, believing that refering to reference material interupts the flow and feeling of the final work.

A member of the Peninsula Arts Society, McClelland Guild, Oak Hill Gallery, and ex member of AGRA. He has had work sellected for permanent exhibition at; Frankston Cultural Centre, Nepean Historical Society, Monash Medical Centre,Quarantine Station Portsea, Frankston Hospital, Flinders Shire, Seal Rock Complex, and has had a paiting selected and reproduced for a permanent marker at the First Settlement Landing Site in Sorrento. Has two published Book covers, and is at present engaged in illustrating two further books.