0427761975 Airlie Beach Gallery, also Hamilton Island Gallery, NOW AT CATSYEYE BEACH, both open daily

BIOGRAPHY – Information about the artist

 At an early age Foot’s father taught him essential farming skills such as carpentry and welding and encouraged him to approach jobs in a practical and creative manner. When just ten years of age Foot began welding together odds and ends from the scrap pile into something he thought had some significance but which the rural community found somewhat amusing.
    After completing a college degree in Mathematics, riding a Harley for a couple of years, and then starting a dive business in the Caribbean,  Foot eventually purchased an elderly ketch and set sail towards the sunset. Five years later he arrived in the Whitsundays where he is now, 35 years later, regarded as a distinguished and notably environmentally motivated sculptor.  His works are now displayed in many independent galleries around the world.
    Working primarily with marble quarried from Chillagoe in Central Queensland, the focal subjects of Foot’s work have been marine mammals. Most of his later works being life-size and the latest, monumental in scale. This inspired the Singapore Port Authority to commission a group of three Sea lions displayed outside the World Trade Centre of Singapore. His largest marble piece, a breaching Humpback Whale, (8′ x6′ x6′), took two years to complete. An even grander, (10′ x10′ x10′) bronze edition of the Humpback Whale was completed in August 1994. This is currently on display at the Hamilton Island gallery, along with many of his originals. In 2001, his home town commissioned him to do a life sized marble Dugong , now an icon of the Airlie Beach Lagoon, Queensland.
        Normally six to twelve months is required to complete a large natural marble sculpture. The
roughing out Foot insists on doing himself using whatever power driven tools are appropriate – industrial demolition saws and jack hammers being his favourite mechanical extensions. The finishing must be done by hand to meet his most exacting standards and here the help of apprentices and assistants make the studio and entertaining experience for the visitor. These originals are seldom sold, as Foot has begun work on a Sculpture Park to house the corpus of his work for future generations to enjoy.  
       Several successful attempts at sculpting the human body, using oil based clay as a sub-medium for the final bronze, have encouraged Foot to diversify further. He has now completed several commissioned marble originals of human busts, hands, feet and other characterized body parts. His most challenging  work, titled “Freedom”, (1997) is a life sized self portrait in the process of chiseling himself out of stone, with the help of an extraterrestrial who appears to be supplying the man with the tools. A year later a life sized female figure was done Fantasy., and a year later a Mermaid.  Just recently he has embarked on the task of creating contemporary works that still embody his cherished ideals, that of beauty and fine workmanship, see Footsky   
      In earlier years timber was a favourite medium, the best work being the 7′ x 8′ Phoenix Bird (Phoenix Vip Lounge,
Blacktown, NSW, Corporate Collection). Marble, however, has a way of captivating ambitious artists. To make this beautiful material more affordable Foot has developed the technique of casting marble, and lately this has been expanded on with the evolution of fantastic coloured marble, and a beautiful rendition of jade, turqoise, and red coloured cast marble. From his originals, moulds are taken and limited editions are also made in hot or cold cast bronze. Original works also being made in cast marble as it is virtually impossible to distinguish between the natural stone and the cast, each work being uniquely coloured . It is left to the viewer to savour the enjoyment these exquisite sculptures provide; and the relatively low cost which provides for their creation.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS: NOTE, in 1999 Foot elected to register a protest of the current reward system for what he feels is “counterproductive art”, by withdrawing from all judged competitions. 

October 1999, Preble County Art Awards, Eaton, Ohio, won first prize, sculpture category
March 1996 Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
August 1995 Cairns Regional Gallery
Oct 1994 , 1998, & 1999, Cyprus Gardens Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, USA
May 1994 Akoonah Park Gallery, Berwick, Victoria
May 1994 Bay Nautica Art Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria
Feb – Mar 1995 Maui Marine Art Expo, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii
1994, & 1993 produced by Coast Galleries, Carmel, Ca.
July 1993 *Fitton Art Centre, Hamilton, Ohio, USA
June 1993 *Flying Stone Gallery, Marina Mirage, Port Douglas, Queensland
1993,1994,1995, Gold Coast Sculpture Award – **won first prize with ‘Leaping Sea Lion ,
and 1996,1997,1999 Gold Coast Council building, Bundall, Queensland
1993 Logan City Art Exhibition, Logan City, Queensland
1991 to 1997 Whitsunday Art Exhibition, Airlie Beach, Qld, “Freedom” won most popular prize ’97
1990 Foot Young & Sonya Moran Exhibition, Hamilton Island Resort, Queensland
1986 *Unveiling of the Phoenix, Hamilton Island Resort, Queensland
1983 *Foot Young Exhibition, Cairns Yacht Club, Cairns, Queensland

SELECTED CORPORATE COLLECTIONS:

LOAFER SEA LION & JUVENILE SEA LION – Marble Sculpture
& CASUAL SEA LION – Hot Cast Bronze, Port Authority of Singapore
Opal Lovers P/L, Cairns, Queensland, Australia Hamilton Island Resort,
Queensland, Australia
Morris on Knudsen Corporation, Boise, Idaho, USA H.P.D. Corp., Renaissance Resort, Japan
Sirotec Software Inc., Odgenburg, N.Y., USA Video 8 Broadcast, Artamon, NSW,
Australia
L & O Architects, Hong Kong Clarksons P/L , Gosford, NSW, Australia

SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:

Aga Khan, Palace Royale, Paris His Highness Sultan Nahyan, Saudi Arabia
Jean Michael Cousteau, Sea Vessel Calypso Alan Griffith, Western Australia
Greg McGuire, Hamilton Island, Queensland Mark & Izolda Doyle, Cairns, Queensland
Dieter and Beatrix Knuttel, Dormund , Germany Hiroshi Yamada, Ogaki, Gifu-Ken, Japan
Hideo Narimichi, Tokyo, Japan Gay Hill, Auckland, New Zealand
Robert O’Toole, Boronia, Australia Karen and Don Johnson, New York , USA
Aaron Conti, Hoffman Estates, Ill., USA Jan Stewart, Markham, Ontario, Canada
David Shirk, Norfolk, Va. , USA Julian Cosgrave, Ringwood East, Victoria, Aust.
Walter Ingham, Newry Bar, NSW, Australia Von Bullivant, Margate, Qld, Australia
Daisuke Hire, Tokyo, Japan Stephan McCormick, Rensrenshire, Scotland
Fernando Rossi, Roma, Italy Gruber Rene’, St. Gallen, Switzerland

BIBLIOGRAPHY – selected articles or TV footage:

A Local Foot-Note, The Palladium-Item, Jan 23, 2000, Jody Peacock
Freedom, Gold Coast Magazine, Oct. 1997, Gourdon Foulds
Channel Ten, 1998, Healthy Wealthy and Wise, “Foot’s Artworks at Hamilton Island”
Channel Ten , Sept 19, Playground on the Reef,  Sandra Sully
Channel Seven News, June 27, 1997, Ynja Bionsson
Leisure World, Channel 10, May 25,1997, Chris Conroy
Sculptor Has Foot in Door, The Whitsunday Times, March 19,1997
Foot backs Egyptian Queen, The Whitsunday Times, March 1, 1995
Interview with Ernie Dingo, GETAWAY, Channel 7, June 25, 1995
Marble Marvels Win Footloose Man Fame, Weekend Magazine 1994, James Shrimpton
The Beholder’s Eyes, Craft Art No 30 1994, John Brown
Queensland Marine Life Gives Inspiration, Weekend Journal 26 May 1994, Berwick,Victoria
Foot Young’s “Humpback Whale Breaching,” , Maui (Hawaii) News Jan 27 1994, Rick Chatenever
Art From the Sea, Journal News, Hamilton, Ohio, 31July 1993, Amy Kunz
Foot Young & His Creations, Port View, Singapore, July 1993, Mary Chai
Drifter Caught by an Island’s Spell, Sun Herald, Brisbane, 30 October 1993, Peter Barnes
Artist Donates Dolphin Sculpture To Council, Whitsunday Times, 15 April 1992
Council Accepts Offer of a Dolphin, Proserpine Guardian, 23 April 1992
Chartering, Australian Sailing, March 1992
Hamilton Island, National Geographic, Traveller, January/February 1992
Dancing Dolphins Emerge, Daily Mercury, Mackay 1991
Meeting the Gypsies of the Whitsundays, Sun Herald, 5 August 1990
A Good Time Comes First with Sculptor, Gold Coast Bulletin, June 1989, Sandra Moran
Reef Artist Having a Whale of a Time, Queensland Sunday Mail, 23 April 1989, Bruce Ruddy
Foot Leaves an Impression, Hamiltonian, March 1988
Master Blaster, Australian Post, December 1987, Therese Hall
Artist with a Chainsaw, Sun Herald, 1987, Therese Hall
Survivor Isle Gets Phoenix, Sun Herald, 1986, Alison Lea
Foot Young Lifestyles, Queensland Homes, June 1986, Wendy Foster
‘Foot’ Loose and Fancy Free, Sun Herald, 1986
Foot Demonstrates Carving, Whitsunday Times, 1985
Artists’ Exhibition a Gem, Whitsunday Coral Coaster, 10 August 1984

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