This is an exhibition about a group of young people who enrolled at the Julian Ashton Art School (an independent school)
in the year 1963.

Murdo Morrison & my self left our employment to begin studying art and met immediately with others with the same interest
& intentions.   At the time, we all had little money and no assistance.   Once we blew our savings, which was meagre, we
had to fend for ourselves.   We took jobs as cleaners, security guards – anything to keep us going - discovered Greek delies
at Circular Quay and munched beautiful Italian bread and blocks of cheese over communal lunches.  

The school was then in the very romantic and dusty building of the Mining Museum at the Rocks.  It smelt Victoriana and
the ghosts of past students were always present.  One student, before us, was famous for running a meat-pie pushcart
during lunch hour in George Street North for his living.

This though is not about the art school, but about a group of students who attended Julian Ashton’s at this time:
1.    Morrison: a robust Scot, whose ideas ran rampant, his brain ever teaming with ideas.
2.    Johnson: a true poet, who lived line and poetry in paint.  He showed fascination with sharp accurate pencil line
       drawing’s after Lambert and with the delicacy of Titian.
3.    Thomson: who later flourished in his art and won the Sulman & Archibald on the same day.  Nigel spent time in
       Holland and Germany and returned to Perth and then Sydney to make a reputation.  
4.    Delprat: with his skill of portraying the anatomy of the female body was impressive.  Paul held a sketch club’s at
       his Balmoral studio where we all met weekly.  Paul has since taken on his Ashton family mantel and saved the school
       through crises and is now it’s Principal, mentor and protector.
5.    Zofrea:  who in true Calabrian style rightfully became wholly involved with things Italian - frescos, woodblock
       printing and Italian culture.  Zofrea has also won many  awards over the life time of his painting.
6:    Graham:  who has become well know for his children’s books and has also won many awards in this field.
7.    Mellis: with his wayward love of the more nihilist influences of Molvig and also Fairweather & Soutine, but who
       could not escape his demons and lost his existence too early.  He is sadly missed.  Unfortunately he has nothing to
       represent him here at this exhibition
8:    Noni:  The little cherub who vanished into a life in Tasmania.
9:    Bob Fletcher:  who vanished to Spain.  Last heard of playing classical guitar in a brothel at Malaga

I must give credit and thanks to the late Dick Ashton & his wife, Wenda, who kindly took us under their wing and often
took us plain air painting and invited us to their house in Mosman for music evenings, sketch clubs and often a home
cooked supper.

I feel, what we got mainly from the Ashton School, was a lot of drawing & tonality skills which has helped me immensely. 
These early lessons became part of ones over (overe) for a life time.  A few of us, having country backgrounds, made
important excursions into the landscape around Camden, along the Nepean, Sofala and because of my early
experiences with the Warrumbungle’s, that place became ‘a Mecca’ for some of us. 

We have lost Nigel Thomson and Gordon Mellis, but we still feel this strong connection with our past friendships. 
Some of us have achieved accolades which is an honour to be credited and to be proud of  but I also feel just
as much honour should be respectfully awarded to those who work honestly through life ‘in their garrets’.  These
artists represent the building blocks for the love of art and a creative existence and are justly, worthy to be
commended.  They are pure soles and true artists, as there is a great beauty with those who have found an
existence in what they love to get fully involved with and perhaps are true heroes who stand alone – what
the Japanese call ‘The last heroes’

Max Miller

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