And he’s the first person to admit he may have went as far afield as he could have.
Coming back for his second year at the Rochester Mural Festival, he described the event as ‘‘more of a painting holiday’’ than a competition.
‘‘I’m here to have a bit of fun in what I do and I don’t expect to win,’’ he laughed.
‘‘I was very fortunate to be selected last year, I had a great time last year and so I decided to re-enter.
‘‘I love the people who walk past as you’re painting and the down-to-earth artists in town — I do a lot of public art, mainly sculptures so I’m used to painting in public.’’
Steve is a regular entrant in South Australian mural contests and has a CV boasting finals and placewinning entries in mural and sculpture festivals, among other sought-after prizes.
But Steve said he’s not concerning himself with taking home any awards, he’s looking forward to spending time in town and catching up with fellow artists in Kerry Nicholson, Frances J Rowland Wregg and Jon Lam, to name a few.
As for the left-of-field art, Steve said he didn’t expect to be picked for an idea that came from back when he used to meet up with his friends in the pub.
‘‘I would meet up with my mates, who were tradies, and we’d talk about my art and what I should be doing for work. Often, their ideas were better than anything I could have come up with,’’ he said.
It was a dinner at the pub where he got his latest idea from his family, something he described as ‘‘quite ridiculous in its creation’’.
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