Bruce Whatley Exhibition Opening.

Bruce Whatley, one of Australia's most loved illustrators of children's books, was a physically imposing man. 6ft tall and broad shouldered, sporting a couple of tasteful tattoos and a goatee, he also spoke eloquently and gave the overall impression of being a wholly capable, talented and insightful individual. As he was the subject of my first formal interview at The Bendigo Writers Festival I was fairly intimidated.
Memory has faded somewhat in the intervening week since the festival so I feel it's important to write this down. Bruce, surrounded by fans and well-wishers after his exhibition opening, was nevertheless indulgent of my request for a slice of his time and I remember that we spoke for about twenty minutes. He was a fascinating guy. The collection of his work on the walls told the story of his life and work, one of constant evolution and growth as an artist. Bruce Whatley forces himself to change styles with regularity, always pushing himself into new ground.
"An Illustrator tells a story," he says "and an artist tells you how they feel about a story. I'm an Illustrator."This statement struck me as very true, evidenced by the great breadth of Whatley's styles. He seemed a man very much interested in visual narrative and communication.
For me the most interesting point of his opening speech had been when he reached images from the book Flood, a collaboration with the multi-talented Jackie French. Whatley's images are starkly emotive and far removed from much of his earlier work. The reason for this was one of my main interests in hearing Whatley speak. He completed a Phd in 2008, Left Hand Right Hand: implications of ambidextrous image making in which he concluded that, for most people, the ability to draw lies in their "other" hand. It was the work of Flood in which Whatley said he really embraced and explored art through his other hand, something he says a lecturer suggested to him 20 years ago that it took him "a long time" to adopt.
On his website he states: "I am continually looking for new innovative ways to make images to tell my visual narratives." and that resonates with my memories of our conversation. I remember asking him about Diary of a Wombat, Fire and Flood and how much those stories were deliberate evocations of place, culture and country. He agreed that they were definitely attempts to tell visual stories of the Australian environment and we discussed his use of iconic Australian animals like the Cattle Dog in Flood, the Cockatoo in Fire or the famed Wombat in the Diary. This, he said was deliberate. These were "Quintessentially Australian animals."
He also included in the exhibition several works illustrating the infamous anti-war ballad ...And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, further evocations of Australian cultural narratives explored through powerfully emotive imagery that didn't shrink from the reality of the war it portrayed.
The final reason for my eagerness to meet Bruce Whatley was that the Festival Timetable mentioned him as a Graphic Novelist and I was excited to hear him discuss his most recent project. An example from the upcoming Graphic Novel Ruben was the final piece in the chronology of Whatley's work. It was richly illustrated in black ink, something Whatley attributes to his discovery and use of 3D modelling programs, another evolution of his already broad talents. Ruben has the look and feel of some dystopian fairytale and I was both excited and devastated to hear that the release date isn't scheduled 'til 2017.
Bruce Whatley to me, was one of the most inspiring and interesting individuals at the Bendigo Writers Festival. He was the most diverse and prolific artist/author I had the pleasure of meeting. His idea's around his own creative drives and passion for pushing his work to the edge of and beyond his comfort zones made him a uniquely inspirational figure. The candour and openness with which he discussed them with me, a stranger, made me like him as a dude. An all 'round nice guy.