“Every time I'm about to get off a chair lift, even years later I'm traumatised by the flashback of the day my jacket caught on the chairs arm and I was dragged awkwardly in front of friends I'd previously told I was a great skier”

"I've been surfing for 40 years. I love it so much. It's the biggest joy in life...the problem is that I'm terrible at it...sometimes wonder why I keep doing it...I wish I was better. I just don't understand how someone can be so bad at something for so long"

"I never thought I was an animal person until Charlie came along. He was a studio cat and kept me company during my long days of painting. He was the man. A very cruisey dude. Charlie was 20 when he passed away. It really hits how much of a a good friend they really were when they're gone"

“This is the time I was at an International residency in New York. It was an amazing opportunity to meet curators and gallerists. The first and only time a curator came to visit she asked for the windows to be closed as it was snowing and cold. I said I couldn't close them as I was using enamels and it was smelly. She said I had an attitude and if this was my response the meeting was over. I never received another studio visit”

“After being diagnosed with pancreatitis in my forty's the doctor said I could never drink again – not even a thimbleful if I wanted to live. I still find it really challenging at parties and social events not being able to party-on with everyone and figure it's time to leave when people start telling me the same stories. I don't want to become a hermit. I probably should try a little harder”

“When I was living in Fremantle a big part of life was the port and ocean where I could do one of my loves...fishing. A weekend ritual I had was meeting up with a friend Liam to go fishing. Liam loved making rigs and didn't much care about having a line in the water and my nickname became "Tangles". I think over two years in WA all we caught was one blow fish...I miss those times”

“I went to a good friends wedding in Sydney. We gathered the next day a little bit hungover to catch up and have a laugh. It just happened to fall on the same afternoon as the 2006 AFL Grand Final - Sydney vs West Coast. As the afternoon rolled on, people watching were commenting how eerily similar it was to the previous year's Granny (same teams, oddly same marks and all) Lo and behold...turned out we were one of thousands fooled who watched the 2005 AFL Grand Final replay on Foxtel that year...”

"One of my all time favourite works is "The sick child" by Edvard Munch. As a child I was constantly at the doctors with mysterious ailments (a complaint that's followed me into adulthood). The painting reminds me of my Mother who had great concern for those who were sick and was especially good at nursing me when I was unwell"

“Another horse story...I was living in a small country town...One day I received a call from my friend Paul who wanted some company whilst he dug up the pot he'd buried below a tree in a paddock down the road...Just as we'd got the stash we felt the ground moving and then heard a thundering getting closer and closer...We ran...Looking back over our shoulders we saw a gang of wild horses chasing us”

“I really hate cooking. My first experience of cooking was in a flat with 8 other guys and it was my turn to cook. At the supermarket I saw whole chickens were a bargain. Just 2 dollars grabbed 2. I couldn't go wrong. When I got back to the flat and put them in the oven they seemed a little light on the meat side. When I served up the roast dinner my hungry flatmates were mortified that I'd roasted them up chicken carcasses.”

“My mates said come mountain biking so I did. I was going well until I hit a tree root and fell down a 30 meter cliff. I landed just before the river. Stunned I was still alive I looked up and could see my mates laughing from the bike path”

“Ive had some epic battles on the tennis court with my friend Mike. The only way I can win is by getting inside his head. One time I remember we met at the net for a chat as we do and I mentioned how I was struggling with my Mothers death. (I know it was low but I like to win). It totally threw him off his game. Sorry Mike”

"I was on a residency in the Pilbara (WA) and chatting with a young girl who said she wasn't so good at spelling. A few hours later we were out in the bush and getting very hungry and thirsty. I started to panic as we were quite far from the community. No problem she said, this place is like a restaurant and promptly found us some snacks and water. I was in awe. I definitely couldn't survive a day out here"

"I was on the McCahon residency in NZ when I had some out of towners Alexie Glass-Kantor and Emily Cormack arrived to stay the night. After dinner they decided to do a seance and try and make contact with Colin McCahon. I wanted no part as I know what to say to my hero Colin if we'd got hold of him. Alexie and Emily went ahead without me and thankfully they got hold of a sailor spirit who'd been there before McCahon. Phew"