Meet Stuart Ian Currie: Professional Artist and Art Educator

It has been a long journey to get here. And where is “here,” you might ask? This is the story of an artist—how one is born, nurtured, and finally emerges. In my heart, I’ve always been an artist. Yet, life has a way of steering you down paths that may not align with your dreams. For years, the need for a steady income placed art on the backburner. Instead, I built a career as a sign writer, fabricator, and installer. While this path offered stability, it kept me from fully embracing my calling. But not anymore. Today, I stand proud, living the life I always envisioned—a full-time artist.

Unforetunately, I am the notorious and well known ‘struggling artist’ version, not the highly successful household name artist.
But please, do read on…

As a child, I was often teased about my name. Stuart Currie became “Stewed Curry,” which naturally led to “Hot Stuff.” Over the years, nicknames came and went, but the first one I remember was “Chook.” For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. Was it my big nose, resembling a chicken’s beak? Or maybe the way I walked, like a chicken pecking at the ground? My mate Brett later cleared this up around a campfire: the nickname came from my prowess in handball. My signature move was a low, swift corner shot, aptly called a “chook.”

Art was always a part of me. One of my earliest memories is of being praised at six years old for a drawing of my parents. Unlike the typical stick figures of my classmates, my parents had form, proportion, and detail. It felt good to stand out. My interest in art deepened during my teenage years, as I explored fantasy themes, sketching wild creatures and surreal landscapes. I later dabbled in anatomy and painting, eager to refine my skills.

In high school, I chose art as an elective, expecting to immerse myself in practical work. Instead, my teacher focused almost exclusively on art history. For someone with dyslexia, this was frustrating. Reading and comprehension were a struggle; I remember being dragged to elocution lessons as a child and enduring spelling tests where my scores dipped into the negatives. My time in the library, surrounded by books, felt like a cruel irony. I barely scraped through art class, but my love for creating never waned.

After high school, I had no clear direction until a careers day sparked an idea. Watching a tradesman airbrushing flames onto a panel van mesmerized me. That ‘artist’ was a sign writer, and I decided to pursue the trade. I enrolled in a two-year pre-apprenticeship course at Ultimo TAFE, which guaranteed a job upon graduation. But I soon learned that airbrushing vehicles was a niche market, not part of the day-to-day trade.

Hungry for more, I sought out additional training. I took an airbrushing course at Rydalmere TAFE and later private painting lessons with Professor Raymond De Cusack and Michael Zaiter. These after-work pursuits allowed me to refine my technical abilities. Occasionally, I sold artwork at private events and group exhibitions, but art remained a passion rather than a livelihood.

Around this time, I earned a second nickname. Over the years, I played various sports, starting with marbles in primary school (if that even counts!). My first real sport was soccer, where I signed up for Queens Park Rangers—all on my own at just eight years old. I remember my mother’s frantic worry when she couldn’t find me that Saturday morning, only to discover I had independently joined the local team.

Later, during my adult soccer years, I mainly played for Wentworthville Warratahs. Over the years I have tried to stay reasonably fit, and injury free, so part of my warm-up ritual was to do a lot of stretching exercises before the game. Does anyone remember the famous Warwick Capper shorts? Well, that was the normal sports attire of the day.
My teammates started calling me ‘lovenuts’. When I inquired about the strange nickname, they suggested that the single ladies on the sideline loved looking at my nuts during my warm-up exercises.
But I digress, back to my art journey.
I decided to quit work and be a ‘real’ artist. In 1985, I enrolled at East Sydney TAFE with the vision of getting my Diploma of Fine Arts. Nearing the completion of my 1st year, insurmountable pressure from my friends to join a sojourn to Bali led to the collapse of my dream. I caved in and got back into paid work so I could go on my first overseas travel experience. I must say, this decision has haunted me in the ‘what if’ scenario. However, the life experience you gain from travelling abroad, the broadening of mind, and the embracing of different cultures is life changing. It is profound, so no regrets… well, maybe a little.

Travel forward a few decades. A bitter marriage breakup left me a single parent with 3 adorable young children to care for – Brendon, Joshua, and Nicole. This made me contemplate… maybe this is my chance? I had a thriving (work from home) sign business at the time but decided to ‘shut shop’ to become a full-time mature age student.
I completed my Diploma of Fine Arts at Nepean TAFE in 2004. I went on to complete my Bachelor of Fine Arts at COFA (College of Fine Arts – Uni NSW) in 2008. I gained distinctions in ceramics, drawing, painting & professional practice.
Then I met Nitcha Khampradit – now affectionately known as ‘Nitcha my wife’ and ‘Nitcha darling’.
I thought this was going to be my time,… finally!
Once again, I was wrong. Marriage, and the birth of our beautiful daughter Pimchanok led me away from art yet again, I had to adopt the provider role again. But it did lead me to my next nickname…
I won’t go into all the details of where I worked or for how long. What I will say is I have had a long working relationship with Signaction that spanned many years. During my time there, work colleagues tried very hard to come up with a nickname for me. Finally, Guy came to me one day and said “I’ve got it, it has to be Puff”. As in curry puff. “Oh, really original Guy, another reference to my surname” I replied. This nickname stuck with me for the rest of my working life.

Jump forward again, a big breakthrough looms. The beginning of 2020 changed our lives forever. The recent bushfires as devastating and stressful as they were, something more sinister was coming for us. The arrival of the 100-year pandemic, covid-19 reared its insidious head, and it has terrorised the world since. Shockingly so many lives lost, and we are deeply saddened by this global catastrophe. Australia has weathered the storm better than a lot of countries.

The Australian Government’s decision to close the borders to international flights saved 1,000’s of Australian lives, but it also led to businesses going burst and job losses on a gigantic scale.
Working as a contractor, most of my work was consigned for Australian Airports.  Yes, you guessed it – I lost my job.

Let’s just say I had to re-evaluate my life going forward.

I have been training myself with new skill sets related to opening an online art store. I have had to learn about social media and how to integrate different platforms with a website, even how to build that website with a WordPress theme. How to use YouTube, start a profile on YouTube. How to make then edit videos, how to upload the videos and link them to my social platforms.
Today, I reflect on this journey with gratitude. The trials, detours, and even the many frustrations have shaped me into the artist I am. This isn’t the end of the story—far from it. It’s simply the next chapter in a lifelong adventure.
My dream of becoming a full-time artist never faded.

Finally, let me just add… I am still the ‘struggling’ artist!