LETTERS from his father received while at boarding school inspired a lifetime of art for Clive Collender.
The Marangaroo resident will be one of 10 artists showcasing their work at Identitywa’s Art Exhibition next month.
Clive has been drawing pictures since he was five years old that tell the story of the places, people and animals that have been part of his life.
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READ NOWHe was one of three sons born to English parents and the family moved to South Africa in the 1960s where his father Fred worked as a geologist for mining companies.
Clive and his brother, Ian, were both born with hearing and sight impairments and from the age of four, attended a specialist boarding school in Cape Town which supported children with disability.
As the brothers could not read, their father would draw pictures to show what their older brother Richard, their mother Ellie, and he were doing.
Clive would respond with his own letters filled with drawings.
The family returned to England in 1976, then relocated to Perth in 1988.
A few years ago, Clive and Ian moved into Identitywa’s Dymchurch Court house in Marangaroo, which they share with three other people.
Clive’s appreciation for art and profile as an artist has grown in recent years, leading to him featuring in exhibitions locally, around Australia and internationally.
Each week Clive goes with his Identitywa support worker to art lessons at DADAA’s studios in Fremantle and Midland and to CATA (Creative and Therapy Activities) in Warwick.
The Identitywa exhibition on November 3 and 4 at 61 Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge will include work from artists David Guhl and Tim Maley and be open from 10am to 3.30pm both days.
For more information, call 9474 3033.