Page 30 - Australian_How_To_Paint

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Kevin Rogers

$RAWN INTO !RT

Not many people can claim that Woody Woodpecker
inspired them into the world of art!

evin Rogers was born in
Brisbane in the late 1950s,
Kand was raised at Southport,
Queensland from the age of five.
Kevin’s passion for art began when
he was about 13 years of age, when
he was given a ‘How to Draw Woody
Woodpecker’ book by the famous
cartoonist Walter Lantz. Kevin recollects
that prior to receiving this book, he
could not draw a straight line with a
ruler, let alone draw cartoon characters.
His initial driving force came from
his big brother Ian, who could draw,
with consummate ease, every Disney
character in Walt’s arsenal. This inspired
Kevin to emulate his big brother, by
drawing every possible spare minute of
the day. It wasn’t a long wait, as Kevin
says that it was if some powerful inner
force that had been lying dormant for
13 years had released itself overnight.
One day he couldn’t draw, the next,
he was drawing everything. At the age
of 13 he entered a pencil sketch into
the Brisbane Courier Mail Children’s
Drawing Competition and won first
prize. This inspired him even further.
Even though he was never trained to
paint at a tertiary level, he attributes
his techniques to his art teacher, Mr
David Kirwan, whom he idolised.
Unfortunately, the school (Aquinas
College) did not have art as a subject
past year 10, so it was up to Kevin
to keep his talent honed from 1973
onwards. In 1972 Mr Kirwan was
Eli Creek so impressed by Kevin’s art that he
presented a portfolio of his work
30 Australian How to Paint