[5] His only formal art education was at Brisbane Technical College in 1962, after which, while still a teenager in 1963, he went to Sydney to pursue his career as an artist.
[5] Soon after this exhibition, he dramatically shifted away from his early painting style, characterised by "rich colour and bold geometry", towards monochromatic, minimalist designs.
[6] In the 1980s, he moved to Widden Weddin, Wedderburn, an informal group of artists based on a 25-acre (10 ha) property approximately 60 km (37 mi) south of Sydney.
This was part of a shift towards a specifically Australian style of art – he later said "I realised that painting was not developing along a linear path dictated entirely by New York, then I got busy rediscovering Australia".
Retrieved 1 February 2023. after being overcome by smoke[8][5] when he went out during the night to check on bushfires burning on the Wedderburn property.